A week has passed since Tropical Storm Kalmaegi skirted northern Taiwan, leaving death and destruction in its wake. The government's half-hearted post mortem into the storm's aftermath, meanwhile, continues.
The unusual nature of the storm and its relative lack of strong wind led many to believe that Kalmaegi did not pose a serious threat. But with 20 people confirmed killed and several others missing, we are reminded that the forces of nature should never be underestimated.
One of the strangest things about the storm was the lack of calls from the media and the public for someone to stand up and take responsibility for the government’s lack of preparedness. One could only imagine the outcry that would have ensued if such events had occurred under the previous administration. Those who should take the blame, such as Minister of the Interior Liao Liou-yi (廖了以), got off lightly.
Maybe it would be too much to request that the government pass on some of the blame to Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators, whose unreasonable partisan bickering resulted in a more than 12-month delay in the implementation of the Democratic Progressive Party government’s eight-year flood prevention package.
Instead, we have been treated to passing the buck par excellence, with Premier Liu Chao-shiuan’s (劉兆玄) top-level meeting on Monday blaming the Central Weather Bureau and requesting that it submit a report on how to improve its forecasting capabilities. This call came despite the bureau’s warning last Wednesday — a full day before the storm made landfall — that Kalmaegi would bring “considerable” amounts of rain to both east and west coasts.
Another diversion was the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office announcement that it would launch an investigation into whether corruption played a role in the breakdown of infrastructure.
With the government now locked in an argument with legislators about where the funds for future flood control projects should come from, it has managed to divert attention from its pitiful response to the first natural disaster since it came to office.
KMT Legislator Chang Sho-wen’s (張碩文) claim that the government should be given credit for the way it dealt with the storm was disgraceful.
Two months into its first term, the Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) government was widely and deservedly condemned following the Pachang Creek Incident, as it exposed serious flaws in the country’s emergency rescue management mechanism. Still, it learned from that experience and eventually put effective controls in place that kept deaths to a minimum during much more serious tests, such as Typhoon Longwang (2005, two dead) and last year’s Typhoon Sepat (1 dead).
The new government should know that throwing billions of dollars into new flood prevention work can only achieve so much. Lame promises that cannot possibly be kept, such as Liu’s ridiculous vow to solve the flooding problem once and for all, are also not the way forward.
Flooded residences and damaged crops are inevitable during typhoon season, but such a large death toll is, as the previous administration showed, preventable.
The new government needs to learn from last week’s errors — and needs to do so fast, before the next storm hits.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has prioritized modernizing the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to rival the US military, with many experts believing he would not act on Taiwan until the PLA is fully prepared to confront US forces. At the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th Party Congress in 2022, Xi emphasized accelerating this modernization, setting 2027 — the PLA’s centennial — as the new target, replacing the previous 2035 goal. US intelligence agencies said that Xi has directed the PLA to be ready for a potential invasion of Taiwan by 2027, although no decision on launching an attack had been made. Whether
A chip made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) was found on a Huawei Technologies Co artificial intelligence (AI) processor, indicating a possible breach of US export restrictions that have been in place since 2019 on sensitive tech to the Chinese firm and others. The incident has triggered significant concern in the IT industry, as it appears that proxy buyers are acting on behalf of restricted Chinese companies to bypass the US rules, which are intended to protect its national security. Canada-based research firm TechInsights conducted a die analysis of the Huawei Ascend 910B AI Trainer, releasing its findings on Oct.
In honor of President Jimmy Carter’s 100th birthday, my longtime friend and colleague John Tkacik wrote an excellent op-ed reassessing Carter’s derecognition of Taipei. But I would like to add my own thoughts on this often-misunderstood president. During Carter’s single term as president of the United States from 1977 to 1981, despite numerous foreign policy and domestic challenges, he is widely recognized for brokering the historic 1978 Camp David Accords that ended the state of war between Egypt and Israel after more than three decades of hostilities. It is considered one of the most significant diplomatic achievements of the 20th century.
Pat Gelsinger took the reins as Intel CEO three years ago with hopes of reviving the US industrial icon. He soon made a big mistake. Intel had a sweet deal going with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the giant manufacturer of semiconductors for other companies. TSMC would make chips that Intel designed, but could not produce and was offering deep discounts to Intel, four people with knowledge of the agreement said. Instead of nurturing the relationship, Gelsinger — who hoped to restore Intel’s own manufacturing prowess — offended TSMC by calling out Taiwan’s precarious relations with China. “You don’t want all of
RSS