Typhoon decisionmaking
Every time a typhoon makes landfall and it is not as bad as forecast, extra scrutiny is put on the decisionmaking standards of mayors and county heads.
Every time their decisions are called into question, they crumble under the pressure of public irritation and march the meteorological experts to the sacrificial altar, disingenuously blaming them for providing an inaccurate forecast.
Perhaps the reader can recall how initial forecasts pointed to Typhoon Krathon moving northward and then cutting across the sea to the east of Taiwan.
Afterward, the modeling forecast a westward drift followed by a turn north, making landfall in southern Taiwan, around Pingtung and Kaohsiung.
Weather forecasts are never 100 percent accurate. Typhoon paths can change, as can their strength and the volume of rain they bring.
The fact is, mayors and county heads do not call a typhoon day based solely on predictions of wind speed and rainfall.
Think about it. Is the Central Weather Administration responsible for deciding how many households need to be evacuated, how many people this would entail and what logistical effort would be needed to conduct the operation?
Is it responsible for calculating the financial loss or productivity loss that would result from a typhoon day?
Is it responsible for determining businesses’ cumulative expenses for each day that workers are asked to stay at home?
Is it responsible for making arrangements to drain the floodwater in every affected city, county or special municipality, or assessing how long it would take for the accumulated waters to recede?
Is it the administration’s job to deal with the aftermath once the typhoon has gone?
If we really want to put a stop to these recurring arguments about whether the mayors and county heads got the decision right, we should hold public hearings and invite experts to give their informed ideas on what should be done and why.
We should then determine a set of principles and standards for what necessitates calling a typhoon day, taking into consideration all relevant factors, including the weather forecast, disaster prevention, business costs and clean-up operations after the typhoon dissipates.
If local government heads are basing their decisions solely on forecast wind speeds and rainfall volume, what are we paying them for?
Chiang Chun-hung
Taipei
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then