Slain Taiwan fisherman's daughter supports aid to Yolanda victims

The daughter of a Taiwanese fisherman who was allegedly slain by members of the Philippine Coast Guard earlier this year supported the humanitarian aid being sent by Taiwan to victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines. "The (Philippine) government might have no humanity, but the people are innocent,” Hung Tzu-chien, daughter of slain fisherman Hung Shih-cheng, told the Taipei Times. “Based on humanity, I definitely support the relief missions." She added the "inhumane" act by Philippine Coast Guard personnel of shooting her father had nothing to do with helping survivors of Yolanda. The May 9 incident in which Hung's father was shot dead caused tensions between the Philippines and Taiwan. Ties normalized after Philippine probers recommended criminal charges against some Coast Guardsmen. Relief effort On Tuesday, some 15 tons of relief goods from Taiwan were flown to Cebu by two Taiwanese Air Force C-130 planes. The relief items included instant noodles, dry food and military blankets. The items came mostly from Buddhist organizations, including the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, Fo Guang Shan, Ling Jiou Mountain and Dharma Drum Mountain, and the Red Cross Society of Taiwan. The report said more flights may be expected as some 100 tons of goods had been collected so far, the report quoted Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs as saying. Meanwhile, more relief supplies were being sent to Taipei by train and truck for shipment to the Philippines. Taiwan's Tzu Chi Foundation has set up a disaster response center which has so far collected 30,000 blankets and 200,000 packets of instant rice meals. Also, a 40-member medical and disaster relief team with Tzu Chi volunteer workers in the Philippines, including 10 medical experts, are to head to the affected areas to directly assist victims, a Tzu Chi Foundation spokesman said. — DVM, GMA News