The government of the Republic of China on Taiwan yesterday issued a press release indicating that in order to show respect to the victims of Typhoon Morakot and solidarity with their families, the ROC (Taiwan) government has decided that no activities shall be held in celebration of the country’s 2009 National Day, which falls on October 10th.

“The Taiwanese embassy in Banjul under the diplomacy of His Excellency Ambassador Richard Shih would like to take this opportunity to extend heartfelt gratitude of the people and government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the people and government of the Republic of The Gambia for their kind condolence to the disaster-devastated families and generous donation towards disaster relief,” the release stated.

It could be recalled that in August this year, a Morakot typhoon hit the Island nation resulting in so many deaths and incalculable lost of properties, a challenge the Taiwanese government is still grappling with.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Shih was late last week at State House where he presented a letter of appreciation to President Jammeh from President Ma Ying-joeu in recognition of The Gambia’s support to the typhoon disaster victims.

In presenting the letter, Ambassador Shih said that the seven hundred thousand dollars donated by The Gambia has indeed helped the victims. The donation, he revealed, was the only single foreign donation to the victims.

The chief Taiwanese diplomat used the opportunity to hail President Jammeh for the strong support he made for Taiwan at the just concluded UN 64th General Assembly in New York.

For his part, President Jammeh described Taiwan as a true and genuine genuine friend of The Gambia. He assured them of his government’s continuous support.