President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday defended his comments on Taipei City Government’s handling of flooding during the typhoon season, insisting that the flooding of MRT stations in Taipei during Typhoon Nari in 2001 unexpectedly prevented the city from suffering more serious damage.
“Many countries have built water conservancy infrastructure in non-traditional locations, such as in parks or low-lying areas. Of course, we did not design the MRT stations to be used for flood detention. It is just an example of flood detention pools in urban areas effectively preventing flooding,” he said when meeting reporters at the Presidential Office.
Ma’s comments came amid criticism of his previous remarks on the issue. While presiding over a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Central Standing Committee meeting on Wednesday, he listened to the Ministry of the Interior’s report on the government’s handling of flooding in the wake of Tropical Storm Trami.
Photo: Taipei Times
As Taipei mayor at the time, Ma shared the responsibility for the Taipei City Government’s handling of flooding when Nari hit Taiwan in 2001 and said while major construction sites were flooded, the MRT stations prevented the city suffering more serious flooding.
“Taipei Railway Station, MRT stations and construction sites were all flooded during Typhoon Nari. It was a serious disaster for the city and it took months to clean up. However, the flooding in Xinyi District (信義) was not as bad as we thought because MRT stations accidentally played a role as flood detention pools,” he said in the meeting.
Ma’s description of MRT stations as flood detention pools in the wake of Typhoon Nari drew criticism, with the Chinese-language Apple Daily running a story with the headline “Serious flooding in the wake of Typhoon Nari. Ma: Lucky to have MRT stations as flood detention pools.”
Ma said he was not indifferent to serious flooding in the city and said the government would devote more effort to flood prevention measures.
“Some people might interpret my comments in a negative way and think I was indifferent by describing MRT stations as flood detention pools. That’s not what I meant,” he said.
After cities in the south suffered serious flooding in the wake of Trami, the Executive Yuan said it would examine flood prevention infrastructure around the nation before determining whether to invest NT$60 billion (US$2 billion) to build more facilities.
Ma said he supported the Executive Yuan’s plan and said that with weather conditions getting more extreme around the world, the government would take other nations’ experiences into consideration when building flood detention facilities, while continuing soil conservation work.
The KMT yesterday also blamed the Apple Daily for distorting Ma’s comments and said that Ma meant to instruct the related government agencies to enhance flood prevention facilities in urban areas.
Unconvinced, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers lambasted Ma for his remarks, which they said described city residents’ plight as a success of his administration.
What happened in Taipei in 2001, which resulted in 26 deaths, serious flooding in half of the downtown area and in adjacent New Taipei City, then known as Taipei County, has been described as one of the worst examples of disaster preparation and relief in history, DPP Legislator Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) said.
“Ma at the time apologized to residents, but now he’s describing it as an achievement. It’s unbelievable,” Huang said.
Additional reporting by Chris Wang
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source