Taipei - Taiwan on Tuesday offered "all the help needed" for China's earthquake-stricken region, and a lawmaker suggested Taiwan launch charter flights to rush aid to China.

President Chen Shui-bian on Tuesday expressed his concern over the quake to China, and said Taiwan is ready to offer aid to China.

"As a member of the international community, Taiwan is ready to participate in the relief, rescue and post-quake reconstruction," Chen said in a statement.

Premier Chang Chun-hsiung said Taiwan is coordinating relief effort and is contacting China to know how to rush aid to those who need it.

"We have instructed all departments concerned to coordinate aid and rescue, and hope to start rescue within the 72-hour Golden Time for Rescue. Taiwan is ready to offer all the help needed," Chang said.

Chang said he has instructed the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) to contact China's Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) to discuss how Taiwan should send aid to China.

SEF and ARATS are semi-official agencies which handle Taiwan-China ties in the absence of formal ties.

In its reply to SEF, ARATS said it has notified the Chinese government of Taiwan's offer of aid. It thanked Taiwan for the offer and said it would notify SEF if China needs Taiwan's help.

Taiwan lawmaker John Chang on Tuesday urged the government to launch charter flights to send aid to China.

"We should launch humanitarian charter flights to China so that the aid can reach the quake-hit region within the shortest possible time," he said.

Taiwan, which is still technically at war with China, has banned direct air link with China since 1949. Taiwan residents and air cargo must transit through a third place, usually Hong Kong, to go to China.

Taiwan's National Search and Rescue Team is standing ready to fly to China as soon as the Taiwan government gives the go-ahead, but Taiwan seems to be waiting for China to make the request to Taiwan so that Taipei can dispatch the rescue team.

According to international conventions, foreign countries cannot dispatch search and rescue teams to a country unless that country requests help from the international community.

Local search and rescue teams from several Taiwan cities and countries are also ready to rush to China.

Taiwan's National Search and Rescue Team is made up of firefighters in the National Fire Administration. It has gone abroad several times to help search for earthquake victims.

An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province, at 2:28 pm (0628 GMT) Monday. By Tuesday morning, the death toll has climbed to nearly 10,000 and some 500,000 houses had collapsed. The quake was felt in many parts of China as well as South-East Asia. (dpa)