President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) appealed to survivors of Typhoon Morakot yesterday to evacuate when necessary in the future, because if they don’t cooperate they would jeopardize government officials’ careers.
Continuing his “apology tour” in Kaohsiung County, Ma told Namasiya Township (那瑪夏) residents now staying at a military academy in Yanchao Township (燕巢) that they must realize the importance of relocation.
“If we don’t implement the mandatory evacuation, many people will call me incompetent and cold-blooded and blame me for causing so many to lose their lives,” he told his largely Aborigine audience. “How can you not evacuate people when their lives are in danger? So I’m begging you, evacuate when it is necessary.”
PHOTO: AFP/MILITARY NEWS AGENCY
Ma said he respected that residents might hold differing opinions, but noted that he and other officials would be held responsible for failing to prevent a disaster and save their lives, adding that the government was duty bound to evacuate people when it detected a genuine danger.
An estimated 3,500 Morakot survivors are staying at the academy in Yanchao.
During Ma’s visit, some people yelled: “Stop the water diversion project immediately” and “Stop projects damaging the environment at once.”
Residents of Namasiya, one of the hardest-hit areas in Kaohisung County, have decided to relocated to a piece of land owned by the state-owned Taiwan Sugar Corp near the Shanlin Junior High School, but to continue farming in the mountains.
Ma said he respected their decision and he had asked the Executive Yuan and Ministry of Finance to study the possibility of acquiring the land. He emphasized that the purpose of the post-Morakot reconstruction program was to return their life and homes to normal and said relocation would not be mandatory.
He, however, voiced concern over the safety of working in the mountains, and urged them to listen to the opinions of experts on the feasibility of farming or other activities.
Responding to concern that relocations might jeopardize their culture, Ma said the government would not “wipe out” their villages and that the special reconstruction project law passed by the legislature last week respects the tradition, practices and cultures of the Aborigines.
Namasiya residents asked the government to speed up efforts to locate the bodies of 20 or so people still buried in the mud. They also invited Ma to attend a memorial service to mark the 40th day after the death of the loved ones.
Ma also sat down with typhoon victims in Fangshan Township (枋山), Pingtung County, to listen to their grievances. He promised to work with private organizations such as the Red Cross to disburse cash relief aid with a minimum of red tape so the application process for relief would be simplified. He said he believed the road to recovery would not be too long or difficult.
“I promise you that rehabilitation will not be too hard to achieve,” Ma said.
As of Saturday, confirmed fatalities from Morakot had reached 571, with 106 others listed as missing, the Central Emergency Operation Center said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
‘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 High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS