Foreign Affairs Minister Timothy Chin-tien Yang Jan. 14 met with Minister Mario Chouloute, the Haitian representative to Taiwan, to express his concern and condolences.
Domingo Jahr, a counselor at the ROC Embassy in the Dominican Republic, said the Special Search and Rescue Team from the National Fire Agency was expected to arrive at the Santo Domingo airport in the early hours of Jan. 15, where three rescue planes rented by the embassy were waiting to take team members and equipment to Port-au-Prince immediately upon arrival.
The daughter of Chang Yung-chung, vice president of the Overseas Engineering and Construction Co., reported earlier to have died in the earthquake, was not found in the rubble and is still unaccounted for. Embassy staff in Haiti are continuing the search.
Chang himself had flown out of Haiti four hours prior to the earthquake.
Chang Hao-chun, secretary of the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission, upon returning to the Dominican Republic from Port-au-Prince, said the ROC Embassy in Haiti was temporarily housed in the offices of Taiwan’s technical mission and back in basic operation. Ambassador Hsu Mien-sheng and Minister-Consular Chi Wang-der had already been hospitalized in the Dominican Republic, he said.
Dr. Chang Chung-bin, president of the Dominican and Taiwan Chamber of Commerce, who accompanied the diplomats from Port-au-Prince, said they were conscious but exhausted, and Chi’s condition was more serious, with head injuries. Tsai Meng-hung, Taiwan’s ambassador to the Dominican Republic, had visited them in the hospital. After further diagnosis of their condition a decision would be made on whether to send them to the United States for treatment.
Taiwan has mobilized rescue efforts and donation campaigns in response to the disaster. World Vision Taiwan was in close contact with World Vision Haiti Jan. 14, while the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation has prepared 400,000 servings of instant rice and over 50,000 blankets for delivery to Haiti. Master Hsin Tao of the Ling Jiou Mountain Buddhist Society donated US$100,000. Fo Guang Shan Monastery has contacted the MOFA to determine what forms of aid are needed, and has set up memorial tablets for earthquake victims and prayed for disaster relief. Dharma Drum Mountain is also ready to join relief efforts. (THN)