TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen expressed condolences to China on Tuesday and offered her government’s help after an earthquake killed more than 100 people on the northern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau.
Tensions between Taipei and Beijing, which views the democratically governed island as its own territory, have soared in the past four years, as China seeks to assert its sovereignty claims with political and military pressure.
But setting that aside, Tsai offered via a statement on the X social media platform her “sincere condolences” to all those who had lost loved ones.
“We pray that all those affected receive the aid they need, and we hope for a swift recovery. Taiwan stands ready to offer assistance in the disaster response effort,” she added, writing in English and simplified Chinese characters, which are used in China but not Taiwan.
Tsai has offered condolences to China before for disasters, including last year after an earthquake in Sichuan province.
Taiwan, which frequently suffers its own earthquakes, sent a rescue team to China in 2008 after a massive temblor struck the same province of Sichuan, killing almost 70,000 people and causing extensive damage.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Gerry Doyle)
Copyright 2023 Thomson Reuters.
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen expressed condolences to China after a deadly earthquake struck the northern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, resulting in over 100 casualties. Despite the tense relationship between Taipei and Beijing, Tsai offered her government’s assistance and sincere condolences to those who lost loved ones. She also expressed hope for a swift recovery and offered Taiwan’s aid in the disaster response effort. Tsai has previously offered condolences to China for other disasters, and Taiwan has a history of providing assistance to China in times of need.
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