Several days of heavy rain have taken a toll, inundating several areas, causing transportation havoc and millions of NT dollars in agricultural losses.
Due to a mudslide, a southbound express train to Kaohsiung derailed yesterday morning near Nanshih (
The airport in Kaohsiung was shut down three times yesterday the morning, which caused delays of numerous flights. Forty-five flights at the CKS International Airport were also affected.
Some local roads, as well as provincial and national highways, were closed because of flooding and dangerous road conditions.
In addition, 5,300 households in the mountainous areas of Nantou and Taichung counties were suffering power outages yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Agriculture and Food Agency reported that agricultural losses from the rain had amounted to NT$413 million (US$12.9 million) as of yesterday. Farmers with crops such as watermelons, pears, citrus fruits, apricots, grapes and vegetables suffered the most losses, it added.
The agency also announced yesterday that it would release 250 tonnes of vegetables in cold storage each day to balance market supply and demand. Currently, it has 5,763 tonnes of vegetables in stock.
The average retail price for vegetables rose, hitting NT$30.13 per kilogram yesterday, up from NT$23.91.
The Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Co estimated the volume of vegetables that arrived at the market yesterday at 911 tonnes, compared with 1,117 tonnes on Friday.
According to the agency, losses were minor at most vegetable farms around the country, but the torrential rain of the past few days had prevented many farmers from harvesting their goods. Farmers in Nantou County were unable to ship produce out of town because of serious road damage.
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), accompanied by Premier Su Tseng-chang (
President Chen asked the Executive Yuan to provide more water pumps to handle the flooding.
Low-lying areas in the county are now under water because the rain has caused main rivers to surge above regular levels.
The president, while making a separate inspection in Yunlin County, directed the Cabinet to appropriate NT$20 million in emergency flood relief for the county.
Chen Ming-wen said that due to heavy rain over the past few days, all three major rivers that run through the county have overflowed.
While the county government has dispatched all of its 50 pumps to help address the situation, he estimated that at least another 10 pumps would be needed.
Su said he hoped that lawmakers would help approve the Cabinet's NT$80 billion budget for flood prevention, which has been pending since last summer, as soon as possible so the government could help solve flood problems in several cities and counties.
Chen Ming-wen made a similar request to Su and said Chiayi would not ask for too much.
"Of the NT$80 billion, we just need around NT$6.8 billion," Chen Ming-wen said.
The premier said he would be happy to do more for the people but that it was difficult for him to do so if there was no money.
"The flooding problem is everybody's problem and we will work on it together. I think it is way more important than politics," Su said.
In response, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Pan Wei-kang (
Pan, who also serves as KMT caucus whip, said Taiwan had entered into a flood-prone period last month, and disaster prevention and relief work was the responsibility of the premier, which she said had nothing to do with the flood prevention budget bill.
In related news, the Presidential Office later yesterday issued a statement expressing regret over a media report which it said had twisted the president's intentions in relation to his inspection of flooding in the two counties.
The statement was made in response to an article published in yesterday's Chinese-language evening newspaper, the United Evening News, with a headline that read: "Bian [Chen's nickname] returns to presidential high ground, takes Premier Su to inspect flooding."
Its subhead said that just a few days after delegating powers to Su, Chen was no longer maintaining a low profile, and that Su had returned to having to "follow the president."
The report said that while the public thought Chen had relinquished most of his powers, things did not seem to be developing in that direction. It quoted an anonymous factional figure of the Democratic Progressive Party as saying that it was possible that "Chen would continue to dominate as an overlord" following his announcement to delegate powers.
The report also claimed that Chen, who had not originally included the inspection trips on his agenda for yesterday, changed his mind on Friday night and requested that Su accompany him.
As Chen's inspection trips were aimed at confirming his presidential authority, the report said that his change of heart seemed to indicate to the public that he was still the boss.
"As the head of state, the president is duty bound to care about the plight of the people," the statement issued by the Presidential Office said, adding that the relief effort was still being handled by the Executive Yuan.
Additional reporting by CNA
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary