Following the 1976 Tangshan earthquake , the ROC mobilized the FCRA to organize disaster relief operations in the areas of Beijing , Tianjin and Tangshan . The FCRA collaborated with the Bank of Taiwan to provide a large quantity of donated humanitarian aid and food items from the people of Taiwan and organized bulk shipments via the International Red Cross to be distributed in the mainland . Beijing refused the aid shipments and the FCRA decided to launch the aid parcels directly to the mainland using unmanned balloons in collaboration with the Ministry of National Defense . These actions apparently triggered the scrambling of MiG interceptors tasked with shooting down the balloons . ROC Ambassador to the U.S. James Shen confirmed ROC actions to provide mainland disaster relief : Taiwan 's furious response to the mainland 's refusal to accept the aid was a powerful piece of political drama at the time , serving its interests at home and abroad
1976 Tangshan earthquake
1976 Tangshan earthquake
Fang Chih