Taipei, Feb. 11 (CNA) International assistance should not be confined only to the country's diplomatic allies, and Taiwan should do what it can to extend a helping hand whether the country in crisis is an ally or not, C.V. Chen, president of the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China, has suggested

In an article contributed to the China Times, Chen discussed the signifance of President Ma Ying-jeou's recent trip to the Carribeans.

Chen noted that he suggested to President Ma Ying-jeou prior to the president's recent visit to Honduras and the Dominican Republic that Taiwan should not donate only money to the impoverished and devastated Caribbean nation, but should also use its expertise and resources in post-disaster reconstruction to help the Haitian people get back to normal life.

Ma then floated this idea during a meeting with Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive and Dominican President Leonel Fernandez in the Dominican Republic, winning support from both leaders.

Chen noted that since Ma declared a diplomatic truce with China following his inauguration in 2008, the president has set great store on foreign policy that has a legitimate purpose, uses legal means and is implemented efficiently.

In his article, Chen said this approach creates a situation that is beneficial in four major aspects.

First, Taiwan earns respect for such assistance because every penny spent goes toward the development of its diplomatic allies, according to Chen.

Second, it serves the people of the diplomatic allies rather than simply lining the pockets of high officials in those countries.

Third, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait no longer have to engage in checkbook diplomacy in their tug-of-war for diplomatic allies.

Finally, Taiwan contributes more to the international community with less political interference, Chen said, noting that Taiwan, though having limited resources in some respects, is rich in terms of the capacity and the will to carry out humanitarian work.

Chen also suggested to Ma that the government should track and monitor the progress and results of the reconstruction work in Haiti.

International assistance should not be confined only to the country's diplomatic allies either, Chen went on in the article, adding that Taiwan should do what it can to extend a helping hand whether the country in crisis is an ally or not.

He said the private sector is the most dynamic sector in Taiwan and that whenever disaster strikes somewhere in the world, it is Taiwanese private and religious groups that are most efficient at mobilizing for assistance.

The government, however, has not used the strengths of the non-government offices to make the maximum efficient use of the available resources, he said.

Chen expressed a positive outlook regarding the diplomatic direction of the Ma administration, but said that its attitude and operations should be more open and should be further refined. (By Lilian Wu) ENDITEM/J