Responding to allegations of government inefficiency by residents devastated by Tropical Storm Mindulle, Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday promised a special budget that would improve flood-prevention infrastructure.
"We will satisfy local government requests by providing NT$570 million to dredge the main rivers of Miaoli County," he said.
Yu also said that the government would find out whether officials should be held responsible for the failure of Miaoli's Liyutan reservoir to function adequately during the storm, which resulted in considerable damage and a four-day cut in the water supply in the center of the country.
"The Cabinet will rapidly punish any official who has acted negligently," Yu said, as he observed the efforts of military frogmen conducting urgent repairs on a damaged sluice gate.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs' Water Resources Agency said yesterday that the water supply will be fully operational from July 11.
Meanwhile, Taichung City councilors attacked Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) for alleged irregularities in the allocation of emergency water, saying that the mayor had priority use of water resources.
Hu denied yesterday that this was possible.
"I didn't even have a bath over those two days," he said.
However, he promised to investigate why his government did not use stored water provided for official use during emergencies.
Later yesterday, Yu promised the Taichung City government that the Cabinet would allocate more funding to dredge the Tali River over the next two years.
POLITICAL DAMAGE
Meanwhile, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday vowed that disaster relief would always primarily be the responsibility of government.
"This natural disaster is equivalent to an event that endangers the national security. Therefore post-disaster relief is a basic test of government capabilities," Chen said during an address at a joint military graduation ceremony yesterday.
Chen's comments were interpreted as correcting Vice President Annette Lu (
Lu had said, "It should not be considered genuinely merciful to rescue people who over-cultivated the mountain areas of Central Taiwan and ruined the soil."
Lu had also suggested that storm victims and other residents of central Taiwan move to Central America to assist those countries with development.
Local politicians and residents condemned Lu for her remarks, suggesting that she relocate to Central America herself.
Some Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators were also unhappy and were quoted as saying that Lu's suggestion was "lacking in humanity."
Lu's office yesterday defended the vice president, saying she had simply proposed that the nation's mountain resources be allowed time to recover.
"I suggest that the government establish a special administration for mountain-area protection and allow the island's mountain areas a period of time so that they can rest," Lu said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS