Taiwan donates US$100,000 to flood-hit Thailand

Bangkok, Oct. 17 (CNA) Taiwan donated US$100,000 to Thailand on Thursday to help the country cope with the devastating floods that battered the northern cities of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in recent months.

The donation was presented by Chang Chun-fu (張俊福), Taiwan's representative to Thailand to Secretary-General of the Thai Red Cross Society Tej Bunnag at the humanitarian organization's Bangkok headquarters.

At the event, Chang said the Southeast Asian country is an important partner of Taiwan in the region, and that the people of Taiwan and its government empathize with those affected by the floods.

It is hoped that those affected by the floods and their families can return to their normal lives as soon as possible, he said.

In return, Tej expressed his sincere gratitude to Taiwan for the donation.

The product of many days of heavy rainfall that hit northern Thailand in August and September, the flooding in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai has been described by several news outlets in Thailand as the worst in 30 years.

In addition to the donation from Taiwan's government, the Taiwanese community in Thailand also helped raise 4.8 million baht (US$144,497) for the Thai Red Cross Society in a campaign organized from Sept. 15-22.