Everyone was waiting to see how long Taiwan's political animals could hold their tongues and not talk politics. As expected, it wasn't very long.
People are are singing the praises of China's support for Taiwan, and some are condemning President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) for the US$300 million aid package to Kosovo. Some are denouncing Lien and Siew for "putting on a show" in quake-damaged areas, and some are defending Soong for not putting on a show because he "lacks resources." Some said the downsizing of the provincial government hindered the relief effort, while some criticized the government's inefficiency in the rescue efforts. What seems even more ridiculous is that there are people who are relating international aid efforts to the "two states" model!
China's support for Taiwan was worth a mere US$100,000, yet Taiwan has constantly supported China in times of natural disaster. Over the years, Taiwan has contributed US$50 million to China's disaster relief efforts. But Beijing imposes news blackouts, so many Chinese people have no idea that support is coming from outside. According to the reporters who have visited China's disaster-stricken areas, they found that disaster victims were unaware of foreign aid, and didn't see any part of it. Nobody knows where the funds went. They were likely swallowed up by corruption or given to the military to fuel the ongoing threat toward Taiwan.
Economic aid for Kosovo comes from a foreign aid budget, so there is no reason to compare it with domestic rescue work. The budgets of modern nations are transparent. Besides, if we had not supported Kosovo, would there be so many countries willing to help us today? Is it fair for us to criticize the government's support for other countries when we are receiving foreign support?
It is the authorities' responsibility to inspect disaster regions, but they are still criticized. Would it have been better if they hadn't "put on a show" just to avoid criticism? It is likely that they would have suffered even more brutal verbal attacks if they hadn't visited disaster sites. Whatever they do, they are subject to attacks like those from rabid dogs.
If the provincial government hadn't been downsized, would the rescue work have been much more efficient? Our government's crisis management has always been a mess. This is something that deserved condemnation ages ago, and bears no relation whatsoever to the "two states" model.
All these criticisms are simply attempts to make something out of nothing.
Pu Ta-chung is the deputy chief editorial writer of the China Times.
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