Setting aside tensions, Taiwan offers aid to China after deadly quake

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen speaks during the Yushan Forum in Taipei, Taiwan October 11, 2023. REUTERS FILE PHOTO

TAIPEI — 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.