Taiwanese students' thoughts turn toward home after earthquake.
With communications out over most of the island of Taiwan, students from that island nation spent an anxious day or two before they made contact with their families.
For two students, the waiting was not in vain.
Jennifer Hsiang, a junior in linguistics, said she made contact with her family Tuesday about 24 hours after the quake struck.
Her family lives in Taoyuan, in the northern part of the island near the national capital of Taipei.
"It was very scary," Hsiang said. "I couldn't get a hold of them."
She was most concerned about her sister, Jessie, who is studying at a technical school in Taichung, one of the hardest-hit provinces in the central part of the island.
"She got shocked big time. She's still in shock," Hsiang said. "She still feels the shaking."
Her family's home was not damaged in the quake, but power, water and phones were knocked out for at least 24 hours.
Hsiang won't see her family until she goes home for the Christmas break.
Kueining Lin's family lives in Taichung.
"Our home is OK," Lin said. "But the fourth floor, the roof collapsed, they're going to have to repair it."
Lin is a freshman in predental study.
"It was pretty big," she said. "It shook a lot."
Smaller earthquakes are common on Taiwan, Lin said. At first, her family thought that's what they were experiencing.
"They thought, 'OK, it will be gone,'" she said. "Then it goes on and on and gets real big."
Lin spoke with her family Tuesday.
With each aftershock the family runs outside, she said.
Lin doesn't like the actions of the People's Republic of China in refusing aid on behalf of Taiwan.
"They take it politically, rather than being sympathetic," Lin said.
Taiwan became home to the Nationalist Chinese government of Chaing Kai-shek, which fled the mainland when the Communist government of Mao Tse-tung won the Chinese Revolution in 1949.
-- Erwin Seba's phone message number is 832-7145. His e-mail address is eseba@ljworld.com.
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