Fu could have said ‘no’
After Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (?) led KMT party members to Beijing to meet with Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧), China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) Director Song Tao (宋濤) and others, the TAO announced that it would donate modular housing units to areas devastated by the April 3 earthquake, to be delivered through cross-strait Red Cross organizations.
Minister of the Interior Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) responded on April 28 that the central government and civic groups’ donations were more than adequate, and that moreover, religious charitable organizations in Hualien County were already providing modular housing, and whether disaster survivors needed modular housing units would be looked into.
Lin’s response could not have been swifter or more on point. There is no need for housing provided by the outside world. We are holding our own just fine.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus secretary-general Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said that 25 years ago, modular housing was an option of last resort.
From rebuilding to management to tearing them down, such housing units were a massive challenge. The aftermath of the Hualien earthquake is far different from the 921 Earthquake of 1999.
With 25 years of experience, there are far better ways to help survivors get back on their feet such as bills to provide rent stipends.
Wu then urged Fu to say so to China, and to tell them to stop sending fighter jets to harass our airspace, and to stop exporting toxic food and products to our country.
What Taiwan actually needs is a seat at the World Health Assembly, but the official Web site of China’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva claims that China’s “one China principle” has become a widespread consensus of the international community.
It further claimed that Taiwanese do not have any reason or right to participate in UN bodies and other international organizations. China’s position is exasperating.
Tsai Mei-chu
Taipei
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