TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) will each donate a month's salary to help Turkey recover and rebuild areas hit by two deadly earthquakes, the Presidential Office spokesperson said on Thursday (Feb. 9).

Massive relief efforts in Turkey are underway and the Taiwanese government has pledged quake relief, including dispatching rescue teams to the worst-hit areas. Meanwhile, disaster relief operations organized by the Taiwanese non-profit organization Turkey Taiwan Center have been underway at the Turkey and Syria border. The founder of the center, Taiwanese professor Chiu Chen-yu (裘振宇), is calling for more support to replenish its supplies as hundreds of Syrian refugees and quake victims have been rushing to the center, which has become the only facility capable of offering clean water, electricity, and heat in the area.

President's Office Spokesperson Lin Yu-chan (林聿禪) said Tsai and Lai will each donate a month's salary to help Turkish people rebuild their homes. Lin also encouraged Taiwanese people to make donations to the special bank accounts set up by the Taiwanese government intended for the Turkey earthquake relief.

Tsai was quoted when speaking to Taiwanese rescue teams in Turkey in a video call as saying that it is time to pay Turkey back as the transcontinental country was the first country to dispatch rescue teams to Taiwan during the 921 Earthquake. She added that the Taiwanese government will provide aid of US$2 million (NT$60 million) to Turkey and will continue to dispatch teams to Turkey to provide assistance.

Taiwan is in a seismically active zone with three active faults and faces thousands of quakes per year. The 921 Earthquake took place on Sept. 21, 1999, and was known as the most deadly in recent history. In that year alone, the Central Weather Bureau recorded 49,928 quakes on the main island, among which 3,233 were felt.