In May 1960 , the FCRA hoarded around 100,000 tons of rice in an attempt to ship it to the Mainland . The offer was rejected by the PRC , after which the FCRA prepared around 10,000 ration kits , each weighing around 1 pound , to be airlifted and dropped or otherwise smuggled into the mainland . Chiang Kai-shek said the following of the PRC 's attempt to ignore the Nationalist relief offer : In 1976 following the 1976 Tangshan earthquake , the Free China Relief Association conducted an operation to send 170,000 balloons filled with relief aid and propaganda leaflets across the Strait to the Mainland in collaboration with the Ministry of National Defense . The move was made following an official rejection of aid shipments from the ROC by the PRC
1976 Tangshan earthquake
1976 Tangshan earthquake
Chinese Association for Relief and Ensuing Services