Red Cross receives Taiwan donation

Red Cross receives Taiwan donation

MEDAN: The Taiwanese government donated to the Indonesian Red
Cross on Friday nine tons of food and medicine to help tsunami
victims.

The aid was symbolically handed over by David Lin, a
representative official on economic affairs, to the deputy of
North Sumatra's Red Cross branch, Adli Lidia, in Polonia, Medan.

David Lin said the donation had no political considerations
but was based on solidarity. "This donation is for humanity
because we also share the grief of the Indonesian people in Aceh
and North Sumatra," he told journalists.

Earlier, there was controversy over the aid, which arrived on
Thursday at Polonia Airport in Medan.

Director general of information, public diplomacy and
international treaties at the foreign ministry, Mangasi
Sihombing, had said the donation would not be accepted by the
government because it does not recognize Taiwan as a separate
nation from the People's Republic of China.

"We have good relations with China and don't want to
jeopardize them by accepting Taiwan's donation. If they want to
help, go ahead, but not directly to the Indonesian government but
through the Indonesian Red Cross," he said. -- JP