The Mid-Autumn Festival, which takes place on the first full moon of the eighth month on the lunar calendar, is traditionally a day for happy family reunions. Last night, however, the big, bright moon that hung over Taiwan may well have brought more pain than anything else to the relatives of victims of Tuesday's earthquake. And, despite the heartwarming story of a six-year-old boy's rescue yesterday, serious shortcomings are being exposed in the government's efforts to offer them relief for their misery and discomfort.
Morale was raised temporarily yesterday in the town of Dali, Taichung County, as Chang Ching-hung (張景閎), a 6-year-old boy, was pulled from a wrecked apartment building under which he and his family had been buried for 88 hours. He was rushed to a hospital in stable condition, though suffering from trauma and severe dehydration.
A crew of South Koreans, assisted by Japanese experts, had toiled for six hours yesterday, using their bare hands to pry a thirsty Chang loose.
``I need water. Why am I here, and where are my parents?'' were his first words to rescuers, according to the Korean team leader Choi Jin Jong.
There was no word on the fate of his parents, but shortly before going to press it was announced that a scanner had picked up life signs from one of his two sisters still buried in the rubble, four-month-old Chang Yu-ching (
It was enough to ensure that rescue operations be extended in the county as Liao Yung-lai (廖永來), the county's commissioner, increased the deadline from 72 hours to 100 hours. Foreign rescue teams suggested extending the deadline as they feel there is still hope to find survivors. This would allow rescue operations to last until 6am today, after which heavy machinery will be used to move through the wreckage.
The Disaster Management Center said yesterday that 2,191 people had been killed, 8,543 were injured, 291 trapped under rubble and 33 were still missing.
The official number of trapped stood in glaring contrast to media reports, often quoting on-site rescue workers, which said hund-reds, if not more, victims were still buried under collapsed buildings and landslides.
``We don't know how many more will be coming,'' said a morgue official, Hong Hong-yu. ``They've just started digging in many places in Taichung County, so there will be more.''
In urban areas, more rescue teams were giving up hope of finding any survivors in the wrecked hulks of buildings and were planning to use cranes to clear chunks of concrete and other rubble.
Amid allegations that shoddy construction work was to blame for many deaths, prosecutors in the Panchiao District Prosecutors' Office yesterday detained the owner of a construction company that built the "Professor's Home" (博士的家) residential building in Taipei County's Hsinchuang City, which collapsed during the earthquake.
Meanwhile, the Taichung Prosecutors' Office yesterday barred the owners of at least ten construction companies from leaving the country. The companies are responsible for collapsed buildings in Taichung City and County.
The owners may face charges under public safety laws if shoddy construction work is proven on their buildings.
More than 80 hours into the crisis, the focus began to shift yesterday from rescue to rehabilitation of homeless survivors, estimated in the hundreds of thousands.
Some people said it could take months, if not years, for their lives to return to normal.
``We're hoping the government will help us rebuild our homes, but I haven't heard any word yet,'' said farmer Chen Jung, who lost his home in the quake. ``I don't have enough money to rebuild or move to another city.''
Chen was among some 500 homeless in Chungliao's tent city, which bustled yesterday morning with people lugging around boxes of fruit, diapers, bottled water and other donated supplies.
At a food pickup point, a big box of pineapple mooncakes sat open, another sad reminder of the celebrations that should have been taking place yester-day. The round pastries are traditionally eaten during the festival, a holiday similar in nature to Thanksgiving in the US, when the moon is said to be at its fullest and most serene.
Its light will have meant little to residents of Kuohsing Township (國姓鄉), in Nantou County. With three quarters of their community's houses destroyed, residents have also been forced to sleep under the open sky for lack of tents. The township is located in a mountainous region, and the temperature fluctuates between a high of 30 degrees during the day to a low of 10 degrees at night. Scores of residents have caught colds as a result. Medical supplies are being sent to the village.
Some 100,000 people in Nantou County are now homeless as a result of the earthquake. Peng Pai-hsien (彭百顯), Nantou County Commissioner, yesterday said that the government will need at least a full year to rebuild the county.
* Fatalities: 2,191
* Injuries: 8,543
* Trapped: 291
* Missing: 33
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
RSS