Liu and senior Cabinet officials from 12 agencies will stay in the disaster zone for one week, starting today, to “exchanges ideas with victims face to face” and “pick up the pace of rebuilding homes,” Executive Yuan Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) said.
Liu’s popularity dropped to a record low of 11 percent in a survey conducted by local cable station TVBS last weekend, from a 13 percent rating in an Aug. 18 survey.
On a visit to typhoon disaster zones last Friday, Ma said that the government has to make initial progress in reconstruction work within one month of Morakot hitting Taiwan on Aug. 8. He has also previously said that any decision on a Cabinet reshuffle would be made by early next month.
Liu and his Cabinet members will live in a military camp in Cishan Township (旗山), Kaohsiung County, where the Executive Yuan has a disaster-relief command center, Su said.
“Staying in southern Taiwan is a more efficient way to communicate with victims about their needs, with local governments about reconstruction work and on better responses and on procedures to evacuate people living in unsafe places,” Su said.
In related news, Liu yesterday approved a Ministry of Finance proposal for state-owned banks to write off mortgage payments of people whose land and houses were swept away by the floods.
The ministry said 297 households lost their homes and land and 260 of them had mortgages from state-owned banks.
Su said that the government hoped private banks would follow suit and it might earmark a budget to compensate those banks for their losses.
Farm and fishing associations will also write off loans victims took out using fish farms and facilities as security if the farms were washed away.
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