Taipei, Nov. 19 (CNA) Vice President Annette Lu on Monday stressed the importance of emergency relief efforts when she received foreign dignitaries in Taipei for a relief meeting.
The vice president also expressed her admiration for their selfless dedication to relief work when she met with the dignitaries of the Association of Medical Doctors of Asia (AMDA), which held a one-day International Community Emergency Relief Symposium in Taipei Sunday.
Lu noted that Taiwan experienced a magnitude 7.3 killer temblor two years ago and the onslaught of 10 typhoons this year, making the people more aware of the importance of emergency relief.
She recalled that when she served as Taoyuan County magistrate, a China Airlines plane crashed near CKS International Airport, killing all 196 on board and six on the ground, pointing out that she had attended the rescue and relief work during the whole process and had keenly learned the importance of emergency relief.
Since assuming the vice presidency in May 2000, Lu said, she has dedicated herself to emergency relief and has launched a series of campaigns to sponsor poor and orphaned children in central America, to send love to India, and to send love to Tibet.
She also said that she recently launched a campaign to aid Afghan refugees affected by the U.S.-led military campaign by appealing to the people of Taiwan to donate NT$100 (US$2.88) each to help the cause.
The vice president said that she had worked toward promoting human rights in earlier years and that she has recently focused on humanitarian relief, especially relief for Afghan refugees.
Lu said that "we are trying to understand the needs of Afghan refugees, and will do our best to provide assistance."
Meanwhile, she also said that "the government and private sector will participate more in international assistance projects to spread the love of the people of Taiwan to every corner of the world. "
AMDA International was founded in 1984 with its base in Okayama, Japan. It has been dedicated to humanitarian relief work over the years.