China says Taiwan quake aid welcome

BEIJING/TAIPEI-China said on Friday that it was happy to accept earthquake aid from its sometimes bitter diplomatic rival Taiwan, after the self-ruled island complained its huge neighbor had refused to accept its donations.A spokesman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office said the government had received or been promised more than 800 million yuan ($115.3 million) in cash and other donations from Taiwan business people, both in China and in Taiwan.The 7.9 magnitude quake on May 12 in the southwestern province of Sichuan killed more than 68,000 people, and thousands more bodies are estimated to be still buried under the rubble."I want to tell the people of Taiwan you can set your minds at ease. We will certainly send your aid to the disaster zone," spokesman Yang Yi told a news conference in Beijing.But a spokeswoman for Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said China had snubbed T$770 million ($25.3 million) in quake aid donations collected by the Taiwan government for more than two weeks.The money, earmarked for quake area reconstruction work, included T$700 million in government funds and another T$70 million from private Taiwan donors, including numerous ordinary citizens, the spokeswoman said.Taiwan did not know why China had ignored its aid, she added."They haven't replied to the letter we sent, but we'll keep contacting," she said.

To read more go to:

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSPEK19854520080530

As in the days of Noah....