The Taiwanese government has given $200,000 to relief efforts aiming to help those affected by Hurricane Helene in Georgia, an amount representing a quarter of the support the island’s diplomatic offices have distributed around the Southeast U.S.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Atlanta presented the donation to the American Red Cross Oct. 22 at an event where local medical and disaster relief professionals shared best practices.
The money will be used to alleviate what the office called the “unimaginable heartbreak” the storm brought to communities in the state.
As an island state frequently hit by typhoons and earthquakes, Taiwan officials said in a statement that their support comes from a place of empathy:
“Taiwan knows the deep sorrow that comes when people lose their loved ones, their homes and their sense of security. The friendship between Taiwan and the United States has always been strong, built on mutual support and shared values,” read a news release distributed by TECO in Atlanta.
Members of the Taiwan Caucus in the Georgia legislature along with representatives from local nonprofits like We Love Buford Highway joined Elliot Wang, director-general of TECO office, for the presentation of the check at the Red Cross’s CPR certification center off Interstate 85.
International aid has long been a part of Taiwan’s diplomatic strategy, in particular as it pushed for inclusion in multilateral forums like the World Health Organization, arguing that China’s lobbying to keep Taiwan out has kept the world from learning lessons from Taipei at crucial times like the pandemic.
In 2020, Taiwan distributed 100,000 medical masks to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, and a Taipei-based industry association sent 5,000 to the local business community via the Metro Atlanta Chamber.
This “mask diplomacy” was critical to Taiwan’s local outreach in the region, particularly among legislators growing more critical of China amid the global health crisis.
Taiwan has donated a total of $800,000 for Hurricane Helene relief, with $300,000 going to the Florida state government for its disaster fund, a contribution stemming from TECO’s Miami office.
The Atlanta office also provided $300,000 to the North Carolina state government for its disaster relief fund, an acknowledgment of the storm’s devastating impact even on inland communities like Asheville as it carved its way up through Florida, into Georgia and onward into the western part of North Carolina.
Helene was responsible for more than 230 deaths and more than $30 billion in damage assessed so far.
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