Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
10AITTAIPEI75
2010-01-19 09:45:00
CONFIDENTIAL
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Cable title:
TAIWAN ASSISTANCE TO HAITI
how-toVZCZCXYZ0000 OO RUEHWEB DE RUEHIN #0075 0190945 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 190945Z JAN 10 FM AIT TAIPEI TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3144 INFO RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE IMMEDIATE 0001 RUEHDG/AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO IMMEDIATE 0001 RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0155 RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL IMMEDIATE RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE RHHMUNA/USPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE
C O N F I D E N T I A L AIT TAIPEI 000075
SIPDIS
FOR HAITI EARTHQUAKE TASK FORCE AND USAID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/19/2019
TAGS: AEMR ASEC KFLO MARR PREL AMGT HA TW
SUBJECT: TAIWAN ASSISTANCE TO HAITI
REF: A. STATE 4208
B. STATE 4807
Classified By: Director Bill Stanton for reasons 1.4(b/d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L AIT TAIPEI 000075
SIPDIS
FOR HAITI EARTHQUAKE TASK FORCE AND USAID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/19/2019
TAGS: AEMR ASEC KFLO MARR PREL AMGT HA TW
SUBJECT: TAIWAN ASSISTANCE TO HAITI
REF: A. STATE 4208
B. STATE 4807
Classified By: Director Bill Stanton for reasons 1.4(b/d)
1. (SBU) During a January 20 lunch with Vice Foreign Minister
Shen Lu-shun, AIT Pol Chief expressed appreciation for
Taiwan's contributions to relief efforts in Haiti. Shen
thanked AIT and the United States for assistance in this
process, noting the speed with which Taiwan search and rescue
personnel had received visas to transit the United States and
U.S. facilitation of the transit of a Taiwan Air Force C-130
carrying relief supplies. Given the political sensitivities
involved, Shen noted, Taiwan had made sure that word of the
C-130 transit had not leaked out and would continue to do so
until the plane arrived in Haiti.
2. (SBU) MOFA was also coordinating the delivery of 83 tons
of medical equipment and other relief supplies which had been
collected, Shen said. Rather than wait until MOFA had
collected the 150 tons of material needed to fill an entire
chartered 747, he noted, MOFA had decided to contract with
Fedex to deliver the goods to the Dominican Republic. From
there, Taiwan's embassy in Santo Domingo would coordinate
distribution to Haiti. Citing ref A, Pol Chief noted the
preference for financial contributions rather than donations
in kind. Shen requested details on how other countries were
making such financial contributions.
3. (C) Speaking in confidence, Shen said Taiwan President Ma
Ying-jeou had instructed him to explore the feasibility of
forgiving all of the roughly $80 million in loans it had made
to the Haitian government. In one sense, Shen commented, it
would amount to making a virtue of necessity, since Haiti was
unlikely to have the ability to repay the loans any time in
the near future. Although they declined to make categorical
decisions on the issue, Taiwan Legislative Yuan (Taiwan's
parliament) Speaker Wang Jin-pyng and Foreign Affairs and
Defense Committee Chairman Lin Yu-fang, both present at the
lunch, agreed that such a move would be both practical and
humanitarian.
STANTON
SIPDIS
FOR HAITI EARTHQUAKE TASK FORCE AND USAID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/19/2019
TAGS: AEMR ASEC KFLO MARR PREL AMGT HA TW
SUBJECT: TAIWAN ASSISTANCE TO HAITI
REF: A. STATE 4208
B. STATE 4807
Classified By: Director Bill Stanton for reasons 1.4(b/d)
1. (SBU) During a January 20 lunch with Vice Foreign Minister
Shen Lu-shun, AIT Pol Chief expressed appreciation for
Taiwan's contributions to relief efforts in Haiti. Shen
thanked AIT and the United States for assistance in this
process, noting the speed with which Taiwan search and rescue
personnel had received visas to transit the United States and
U.S. facilitation of the transit of a Taiwan Air Force C-130
carrying relief supplies. Given the political sensitivities
involved, Shen noted, Taiwan had made sure that word of the
C-130 transit had not leaked out and would continue to do so
until the plane arrived in Haiti.
2. (SBU) MOFA was also coordinating the delivery of 83 tons
of medical equipment and other relief supplies which had been
collected, Shen said. Rather than wait until MOFA had
collected the 150 tons of material needed to fill an entire
chartered 747, he noted, MOFA had decided to contract with
Fedex to deliver the goods to the Dominican Republic. From
there, Taiwan's embassy in Santo Domingo would coordinate
distribution to Haiti. Citing ref A, Pol Chief noted the
preference for financial contributions rather than donations
in kind. Shen requested details on how other countries were
making such financial contributions.
3. (C) Speaking in confidence, Shen said Taiwan President Ma
Ying-jeou had instructed him to explore the feasibility of
forgiving all of the roughly $80 million in loans it had made
to the Haitian government. In one sense, Shen commented, it
would amount to making a virtue of necessity, since Haiti was
unlikely to have the ability to repay the loans any time in
the near future. Although they declined to make categorical
decisions on the issue, Taiwan Legislative Yuan (Taiwan's
parliament) Speaker Wang Jin-pyng and Foreign Affairs and
Defense Committee Chairman Lin Yu-fang, both present at the
lunch, agreed that such a move would be both practical and
humanitarian.
STANTON