De brede internationale kritiek op de Chinese regering betreffende haar beleid inzake mensenrechten, de bezetting van Tibet en de steun aan enkele van de ergste dictatoriale regimes (Birma, Soedan, Noord-Korea en Iran), betekent uiteraard niet dat er niet even wereldwijd compassie is met de slachtoffers van de recente aardbeving en bereidheid China te hulp te schieten. Ook Israël levert hierin haar bijdrage.
Wouter
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[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA: On 19 May Israel Television Channel 2 News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7409106.stm reported that Israel provided, at China's request, detailed satellite imagery of areas hit by the recent earthquake in China to facilitate damage assessment and rescue and recovery planning.]
Israel sends humanitarian aid to Chinese earthquake victims
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinated the aid effort, funded by Israel Corporation and philanthropists from Los Angeles, to bring medical equipment, clothing, tents and water purification kits from Israel to earthquake victims in China.
(Communicated by the Foreign Ministry Spokesman)
May 25, 2008
May 25, 2008
On Sunday, May 25, 2008, an Israeli plane took off for the city of Chengdu with humanitarian aid for victims of the earthquake that struck the Sichuan province in southwestern China last week. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which coordinated the aid effort, collected more than one and a half million dollars, a million of which were donated by Israel Corporation, headed by Idan Ofer, and its subsidiaries, and half a million by Jewish philanthropists Diane and Gilford Glazer, through the United Israel Appeal.
The plane carried about 90 tons of medicines and medical equipment, water purification kits, generators, tents, sleeping bags, and clothing intended for the earthquake survivors.
The aid comes in addition to money transferred by the Israeli embassy in Beijing to the Chinese Red Cross at the beginning of last week, to be used for immediate evacuations, and a shipment of sleeping bags and blankets that arrived in China on Thursday, 22 May.
As soon as the extent of the disaster became known, the Israeli embassy in Beijing turned to the local Foreign Ministry and offered help in the form of Israeli evacuation and rescue teams and a field hospital. The Chinese government thanked the embassy staff for the offer but at this stage preferred help with acquiring basic equipment to house the hundreds of thousands of survivors left homeless.
Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni, together with representatives from Israel Corporation and the Chairman of UIA, Avi Pozner, presented the aid shipment to the Chinese ambassador to Israel at a special ceremony that took place Sunday morning at Ben Gurion International Airport.
The plane carried about 90 tons of medicines and medical equipment, water purification kits, generators, tents, sleeping bags, and clothing intended for the earthquake survivors.
The aid comes in addition to money transferred by the Israeli embassy in Beijing to the Chinese Red Cross at the beginning of last week, to be used for immediate evacuations, and a shipment of sleeping bags and blankets that arrived in China on Thursday, 22 May.
As soon as the extent of the disaster became known, the Israeli embassy in Beijing turned to the local Foreign Ministry and offered help in the form of Israeli evacuation and rescue teams and a field hospital. The Chinese government thanked the embassy staff for the offer but at this stage preferred help with acquiring basic equipment to house the hundreds of thousands of survivors left homeless.
Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni, together with representatives from Israel Corporation and the Chairman of UIA, Avi Pozner, presented the aid shipment to the Chinese ambassador to Israel at a special ceremony that took place Sunday morning at Ben Gurion International Airport.
At the ceremony, FM Livni said, "What Israel is doing this morning is the minimum that we can do to express the warm relations between Israel and China. As soon as the disaster occurred, we turned to the Chinese and asked what we could do. In coordination with them, we are sending a plane with aid this morning, which is the least that we can do. We concentrated on items essential to evacuation and rescue operations. Israel's willingness to help out wherever a disaster occurs is an expression of the humanitarian side of Israel's relations with the rest of the states in the world.
We would like to thank the Israel Corporation and the United Israel Appeal."
FM Livni also told the Chinese ambassador that the aid shipment did not include just packages but also the sincere feelings of the Israeli people.
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IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il
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