Taiwan boy killed in SW China's quake

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-05-14 16:39

BEIJING-- A three-year-old Taiwan boy, Zhu Shaowei was killed after a massive quake hit southwest China's Sichuan Province, a mainland spokesman said in Beijing on Wednesday.

Two Taiwan compatriots were slightly injured, Yang Yi, spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said at a press conference.

More investigation is underway to confirm the situation of one four-year-old Taiwan girl Yu Jiarong, Yang said.

"Due to the transportation difficulties, we have no plan at this stage to arrange Taiwan rescuers to join in disaster relief in quake-hit regions, " he said.

There are no major causalities among Taiwan compatriots. Taiwan businessmen and students are calm and the overall situation of Taiwanese-funded companies remains stable, he said.

China Airlines and TransAsia Airways of Taiwan had applied to transport relief supplies and carry Taiwan compatriots back to Taiwan, he said.

"We are actively making coordination currently and trying to bring this to a success," he said.

Meanwhile, a total of 588 Taiwan tourists were stranded in Jiuzhaigou, a tourist attraction in southwestern Sichuan Province, Yang said.

According to the Chongqing branch of Air China, the airlines arranged four Boeing 737s to pick up all the stranded tourists in Jiuzhaigou, including the Taiwan compatriots.

The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council required all the local offices to rescue Taiwan compatriots. The mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait also opened a hotline for disaster relief 010-83551779.



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