China has offered Taiwan help following a major earthquake that struck the island on Wednesday.
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck at 7:58 am (2358 GMT Tuesday) at a depth of 15.5 kilometres, according to Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicentre was about 25 kilometres south-east of Hualien in eastern Taiwan, the CWA said.
The earthquake has caused widespread severe damage to buildings and injured an as yet unknown number of people on the island, which has more than 23 million inhabitants.
The spokeswoman of the Taiwan Affairs Bureau, Zhu Fenglian, said authorities in Beijing were very concerned about the situation. China is monitoring the situation and is ready to offer disaster relief, she said.
Taiwan has had an independent government since 1949, but China considers the self-ruled democracy part of its territory.