Aborigines in Kaohsiung County’s Namasiya Township (那瑪夏) yesterday asked President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to include them in the government’s Aboriginal reconstruction committee so they could have a say in decisions after Typhoon Morakot destroyed sections of villages.
Survivors in Neimen Township (內門鄉), most of whom are Aboriginal, waited for two hours for Ma to arrive.
Holding banners that read “Water diversion project ruined our homes and killed our people” and “Don’t let the tribal reconstruction project ruin our tribal lifeblood,” typhoon victims chanted “Aborigines want to enter the reconstruction committee.”
PHOTO: NICKY LOH, REUTERS
They said the Executive Yuan’s reconstruction committee should send officials to the south to discuss the reconstruction project with victim families rather than make the decision by themselves in Taipei.
“We want to go home,” they said.
While some residents wished to relocate the village and others wanted to reconstruct the village in the same location, most of them said they were afraid their culture would vanish.
PHOTO: NICKY LOH, REUTERS
Leading officials in a deep bow, Ma apologized for coming too late and said he was there to hear their opinions.
Ma said the government welcomed the Aborigines to participate in the reconstruction committees at both the central and local government levels.
“The resettlement and reconstruction projects are not compulsory,” Ma said. “We hope you will make up your mind as soon as possible so we can begin the work.”
In Namasiya’s Mincyuan Village, Ma led government officials in a deep bow to apologize for the government’s shortcomings in relief efforts.
Ma was met with a warm welcome and had his photograph taken with residents. He asked them to carefully consider whether they wanted to continue living there as the Council of Agriculture has designated it as a mudslide-prone area.
As the typhoon season is not over, Ma urged them to be ready for the next storm. He said everybody should learn a lesson from the typhoon this time. When mudslides were inevitable, the best remedy was to stay away from danger or be fully prepared for it, he said.
Ma also asked victims to spread the news about the good deeds of the armed forces, saying the criticism about their slow response to the disaster was “unfair” and that the military risked their lives to rescue people the first day after the typhoon hit.
At a different setting yesterday, Ma thanked the US government for its humanitarian assistance in helping the country tackle the challenges posed by Typhoon Morakot.
Ma made the remarks while meeting Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry at the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon.
Describing Typhoon Morakot as the cause of the country’s worst flooding and the most rainfall, Ma said the disaster took many lives and caused serious damage to property.
Ma said he was grateful that Washington dispatched heavy-lift helicopters to help transport earth diggers and other machinery into remote mountain areas to re-open roads.
“This is the first time the US military sent help over here to the Republic of China to help us with the rescue and reconstruction work since we terminated the diplomatic relations in 1979,” he said.
It was incorrect, however, as the US military offered assistance in the wake of the 921 Earthquake in 1999.
Meanwhile, Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien (王建煊) yesterday called on Ma and Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) to return to their posts to map out and coordinate restoration and reconstruction projects.
“Ma and Liu … should return to their offices as soon as possible rather than [staying in disaster zones] to kowtow to, bow before, or hug disaster victims,” Wang said.
Wang said that he approved of all these gestures, but “putting on their thinking caps for post-disaster reconstruction is more important.”
“For example, many prefabricated houses are being built in disaster zones, despite the opposition of experts. This is what Ma and Liu should be thinking about,” Wang said.
He made the remarks after meeting with about 10 representatives of survivors from Kaohsiung County’s Siaolin Village (小林), the village worst hit by the typhoon.
Tsai Song-yu (蔡松諭), leader of the group, filed a petition demanding the participation of international professionals in the watchdog’s investigation into the destruction of the village by floods and mudslides that left more than 400 dead, most buried under mud.
Representatives of the villages have said that a project conducted by the Water Resource Agency to divert water from Laonong River (荖濃溪) to Zengwon Reservoir (曾文水庫) was one cause of the tragedy and that the Soil and Water Conservation Bureau failed to issue an evacuation warning.
Wang said inviting international professionals to join the Control Yuan’s investigation is workable and he would convey the opinions to Control Yuan Vice President Chen Jinn-lih (陳進利), who is in charge of the probe.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHIH HSIU-CHUAN
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by