ARATS expresses gratitude to Taiwan for quake relief

The Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits on Wednesday delivered a letter of gratitude to the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation for the island's 1.2 billion Taiwan New dollars donation for the reconstruction of the quake-hit Sichuan Province.



The letter came in response to a message sent by the SEF to ARATS on Tuesday saying Taiwan would forward the money received through its donation account to help with post-quake reconstruction in the quake-hit area.



The 8.0-magnitude earthquake centered in Wenchuan County on May12 killed more than 69,000 people in Sichuan and the neighboring provinces and left nearly 18,000 missing.



The SEF said the donation should be used in the reconstruction of the community and school facilities only.



ARATS said in its letter the donation by the Taiwan people and their concern toward the quake-affected people on the mainland showed "people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are connected like flesh and blood and share both weal and woe."



It asked the SEF to convey its gratitude to the Taiwan people on behalf of all the quake-affected people.



ARATS pledged to use the donation in accordance with the requirements of the donors, and would report to the SEF on the use of the funds.



In another letter to the SEF on Wednesday, ARATS also expressed gratitude to the SEF in response to a message sent by the SEF on Monday expressing its concerns over Saturday's earthquake in Panzhihua, Sichuan Province.



That afternoon, a 6.1-magnitude earthquake hit the Panzhihua City, leaving 38 dead and one missing as of 8 a.m. on Wednesday.



Source:Xinhua