President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday inspected the two eastern counties of Taitung and Hualien, both of which were hit hard by Typhoon Bilis last week.
Chen first inspected Taitung County's Tungho village, which is known for its fruit production.
Looking at so much fruit on the ground, Chen said somberly: "It's a heart-rending sight."
PHOTO: HUANG MING-TANG, LIBERTY TIMES
"I will ask relevant agricultural administration agencies to hand out disaster relief money to all farmers within a month to compensate them for their typhoon losses."
Noting that Taiwan was often hit by earthquakes and typhoons, Chen said local residents should not be daunted by such natural disasters and should adopt comprehensive precautions to minimize the possible damage.
Chen said reconstruction work should focus on basic living needs, such as restoring power and water.
Typhoon Bilis, the strongest storm to hit Asia so far this year, ripped through Taiwan on Tuesday night, leaving at least 11 people dead, several others missing and many private homes and public facilities destroyed or damaged.
adding up the losses
Initial tallies showed that agricultural losses in Taitung County alone were estimated at NT$1.2 billion (US$38.71 million).
Accompanied by Taitung County Commissioner Chen Chien-nien (
The Paishoulien breakwater, which was built decades ago to protect the coast from ocean waves, was damaged by strong winds. Chen ordered relevant government agencies to complete repair and rehabilitation work as soon as possible to ensure the safety of residents in the coastal region.
The president also inspected damaged roads, railway lines, farms, electricity and water supply facilities and collapsed houses in neighboring Hualien County.
Hualien County Commissioner Wang Ching-feng (
After listening to Wang's briefing, Chen directed Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Hsin-yi (林信義) and Council of Agriculture Chairman Chen Hsi-huang (陳希煌) to offer typhoon-affected regions all necessary assistance and subsidies.
Chen later toured a railway repair project in neighboring Kuangfu village (
Chen said government agencies would work hard to complete typhoon-related recovery work within a month.
Chen also expressed his sorrow for failing to be with his fellow countrymen when the typhoon hit the nation.
foreign tour cut short
When Bilis hit the island, Chen was on a state visit in the African country of Burkina Faso. After hearing details of the damage, Chen decided to cut short a visit to Chad, citing concerns that he was needed at home, and returned to Taiwan .
Chen praised government agencies for all of their preparations and efforts to minimize damage.
"Thanks to appropriate precautionary measures, we have managed to largely minimize typhoon-related damage," he said.
The president also expressed his gratitude for military servicemen, police and fire-fighting officers for their contribution to emergency rescue and relief operations.
Shortly after arriving on Friday, Chen boarded another jet and flew to the central county of Nantou where a mudslide killed eight people during the storm.
Chen made three phone calls to Premier Tang Fei (
Chen also called Vice President Annette Lu (
Chen expressed his frustration over being criticized for "putting on a show" by ending his foreign tour one day earlier than originally scheduled and then returning to Taiwan to tour disaster areas immediately.
"It's really hard to be the president," Chen said.
"I fought for Taiwan's diplomacy in the international community and even ended my visit earlier to be with my people," Chen said. "However, I saw that the newspapers criticized my action as `nothing but showing off,' and at each place I went to inspect there was somebody or other complaining about me."
The president said he did not take a single day's rest during the 13-day foreign visit and domestic tour of typhoon-damaged areas.
"I know that people have high demands of me," Chen said, "but I have to beg people to understand that I cannot please all the people all of the time."
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —