Off the wire
• Costa Rica's Chinatown greets Chinese New Year with traditional performances  • Box office on Valentine's Day hits record high  • Australia's population to surpass 24 million: statistics  • Chinese, Thai passengers drive growth at Cambodian airports  • Tokyo shares end sharply higher by break on upbeat U.S. data  • Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger "playing hide and seek" with Argentine fans  • 1st LD: Chinese shares dive at opening after holiday break  • Urgent: China's January exports down 6.6 pct, imports down 14.4 pct  • 1st LD: Libyan presidential council announces new lineup of unity government  • Xinhua China news advisory -- Feb. 15  
You are here: 　 Home

Mainland's Taiwan affairs chief expresses condolences over Taiwan quake again

Xinhua, February 15, 2016 Adjust font size:

Zhang Zhijun, the Chinese mainland's Taiwan affairs chief, on Monday conveyed condolences from leaders of the mainland to the victims of the strong earthquake that struck southern Taiwan more than a week ago.

The 6.7-magnitude quake hit Kaohsiung on Feb. 6, just two days ahead of the traditional Lunar New Year, leaving 116 dead, over 550 injured and huge property losses.

"The sudden loss of so many compatriots and the damage to so many homes grieve us greatly," Zhang said during a phone conversation with Taiwan's mainland affairs chief Andrew Hsia on Monday morning.

Following the powerful earthquake, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and Premier Li Keqiang expressed their deepest sympathies to affected Taiwan compatriots and conveyed condolences to the victims while vowing aid.

The State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office and the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) contacted Taiwan authorities immediately after the quake to offer help.

Many mainland-based institutions, enterprises, social groups and citizens have been closely following the situation and expressed their sympathies, including those affected by a deadly earthquake in Sichuan Province in 2008 who once received help from Taiwan.

The mainland's Buddhist and Taoist associations held prayer rituals in Beijing for the quake victims. ARATS donated 5 million yuan (769,000 U.S. dollars) to Taiwan, according to Zhang.

Zhang said compatriots across the Taiwan Strait are "a community of shared destiny who are attached by blood," and their support for each other has proved their close relationship as one family.

During the conversation, Hsia expressed his gratitude to concerns shown by leaders and people from various circles from the mainland. Endi