Japanese quake rescue team arrives after Taipei rejects Beijing’s offer
As search continues for seven people still missing, government says it accepted Japan’s help because rescuers brought hi-tech equipment to detect signs of life
A day after Taiwan rejected Beijing’s offer to send help following a powerful earthquake that killed at least 10 people and injured 272 others, a seven-member Japanese team arrived in Hualien on Thursday to assist with rescue efforts.
The seven people still missing are five mainland Chinese from the same family, including a 12-year-old boy, and a Hong Kong couple with Canadian citizenship. All of them were staying at the Beautiful Stay motel which was part of a residential tower block that collapsed, the Central Emergency Operation Centre said.
The Japanese team brought with them two sets of the latest equipment to detect signs of life among earthquake debris.
Japan was among the first to offer assistance and support after the magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 21km (13 miles) northeast of coastal tourist city Hualien just before midnight on Tuesday.
Local media and observers said Taipei’s decision to allow the Japanese team to assist in the rescue operation but reject Beijing’s offer was understandable at a time when cross-strait ties had deteriorated. Beijing, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province, suspended exchanges and talks with Taipei after President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016 and refused to accept the “one China” principle.
