President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday during a visit to one of the villages hardest hit by Typhoon Morakot last month that his administration would do its utmost so that people do not have to live in fear of natural disasters.
“The government will work to the best of its ability to protect the public from living with the fear of natural disasters,” Ma said during an inspection of Sinfong Village (新豐) in Pingtung County’s Gaoshu Township (高樹).
Ma was met by a teary Liao Lin Mei-lan upon his arrival.
Liao, who previously lived beside the Jiouliao dike along the Laonong River (荖濃溪), which was washed away by floods, told Ma that her home and farmland had been destroyed.
When the Jiouliao dike burst, it washed away 117 hectares of farmland that the 60-plus Sinfong households relied upon for their income.
“The dike has burst twice in the past, but we hope that this time the rebuilt embankment will be able to withstand flooding to ensure our safety,” she told Ma. “We hope the president himself will oversee the project.”
In response, Ma said he would see to it that the reconstruction project was completed before next May’s plum rains.
Ma said the new dike and other flood-prevention projects would be able to withstand a “once-in-200-years” flood, while the previous infrastructure had been designed to withstand once-in-a-century flooding.
At a separate setting yesterday, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said the central government would publicize a post-Morakot report on Wednesday.
Wu told a press conference after presiding over his first post-typhoon reconstruction committee meeting last week that the government was expected to complete its evaluation of mudslide-prone areas by today.
People living in areas that are not safe will be relocated in accordance with the Post-Typhoon Morakot Reconstruction Special Act (莫拉克颱風災後重建特別條例), Wu said, adding that the act had made it much easier for the government to acquire land for relocation purposes.
The central government and civic groups helping to build housing will share responsibility for building public facilities for the new communities, Wu said.
Wu said residents who needed to relocate would have to make a choice by next Saturday.
In addition to the government’s NT$120 billion (US$3.6 billion) special budget request for reconstruction, the government will use next year’s budget earmarked for less urgent government projects to carry out reconstruction work, Wu said.
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on