Posted on 12/29/2004 9:13:19 PM PST by anymouse
Taiwan's national space programme offered Wednesday its satellite images of the damage caused by powerful tsunamis that ravaged Asia at the weekend to affected countries and aid groups for free.
The National Space Programme Office (NSPO) normally charges 3,000 euros (4,080 dollars) for each photograph covering an area of 600 square kilometres (240 square miles), the office said.
The images would be provided free of charge to affected countries and had been posted on NSPO's website, programme head Lance Wu said.
Its images of badly hit Puhket island in Thailand and Indonesia's Banda Aceh were probably among the first taken of the huge waves that killed thousands of people on Sunday, it said.
Some had been immediately sent to foreign ministries and research centers in countries with which Taiwan had diplomatic contact.
But Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory, only has diplomatic ties with 26 countries, the majority of the world's nations choosing to recognise Beijing instead.
"The problem is that all those countries do not maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan," Wu said.
"We are not sure which countries and which responsible units would need these satellite images," he said, explaining the decision to post the pictures on the www.nspo.org.tw website.
The Taiwan's FORMOSAT-2 satellite would continue taking images for another week of seriously damaged areas including the west coast of Thailand, Sumatra of Indonesia, the east coast of India, Sri Lanka and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
"Hopefully the free photos would help those countries hit by the tsunamis make a precise analysis while launching various rescue and rehabilitation programmes," NSPO official Liu Yung-nien said.
"The problem is that all those countries do not maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan," Wu said.
"We are not sure which countries and which responsible units would need these satellite images," he said, explaining the decision to post the pictures on the www.nspo.org.tw website.
I haven't heard China offering to help out, even with their new found wealth and massive military and commercial shipping resources.
I'd like to know what China intends to do to help as well.
After all, they want to be the Big Cheese in the region, now would be a good time to step up.
BEIJING, Dec. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- China was preparing the next batch of humanitarian aid to South and Southeast Asia after the batches to Sri Lanka and Indonesia, Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai said here Wednesday.
The first loads contained food, blankets, tents and bedsheets, and the next will include medicine, Bo told visiting Sri Lanka Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, who cut short his China tourand was expected to return home Wednesday night.
China offered 21.63 million yuan (2.6 million US dollars) in emergency humanitarian aid to India, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, which were seriously hit by the largest earthquake and tsunami in 40 years in Dec. 26. Enditem
wonder if there is any information on damage to infrastructure of things like oil rigs and pipelines?
Taiwan needs to smelt down some brass clankers and assert itself.
Hmmm, maybe the stricken countries can get their satellite imagery from Red China.
Meanwhile China offers the glorious gift of communism to the poor proletariat of Asia. yechhhh..
Taiwain could offer free syphillis and still be competitive.
Wow, 2.6 million to our 350 million. You'd think the new Masters of Asia could spare a little more of their 131 billion in US trade surplus to help our their nieghbors. Disgusting.
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