A funeral service was held yesterday in Tainan for the 117 victims killed by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake that hit southern Taiwan on Feb. 6, which caused the collapse of several buildings in the city, including a 17-story apartment complex, and left more than 500 people injured.
About 4,000 people attended the event held in Tainan’s stadium, including President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Premier Simon Chang (張善政), president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Tainan Mayor Lai Ching-te (賴清德), as well as foreign officials based in Taiwan, mayors of neighboring cities and family members of the dead.
Participants observed a minute of silence before laying lilies on a stage where photographs of the victims were placed, to pay their respects to the deceased.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
It was saddening that the earthquake left 117 people dead and 551 injured, Ma said in his address.
Earthquakes cannot be predicted, but the destruction potentially caused by an earthquake can be avoided, Ma said.
Pledging that the government would learn from the incident, Ma said the Cabinet has drafted a plan for anti-seismic reinforcement of buildings and is pushing for amendments to strengthen disaster prevention and relief measures.
As reconstruction is under way, the central government is to work closely with the Tainan City Government to help people affected by the earthquake get back on their feet, Ma said.
Tsai also lauded the joint efforts of the central and local governments in search-and-rescue operations following the earthquake, saying that they have created a model for cooperation between the central and a local government in disaster relief.
In the future, it is more important to establish a comprehensive mechanism to ensure smooth cooperation between the two levels of government, as well as to carry out safety inspections of old buildings and construction management of new buildings, Tsai said.
Expressing gratitude for the president’s and the premier’s promises to help with the reconstruction work, Lai vowed to take care of people affected by the disaster.
The mayor also said that he was touched by one of the earthquake survivors, Lee Tsung-tien (李宗典), who lost seven family members in the earthquake and had his left leg amputated.
Despite his suffering, Lee still expressed hope of helping those in need after his recovery, Lai said.
Lai said donations for recovery efforts have surpassed NT$3 billion (US$89.6 million), adding that the money would be used to provide assistance to those affected by the disaster.
Among those who died in the earthquake, 115 were killed in the Weiguan Jinlong complex in Tainan’s Yongkang District (永康). More than one-third of the victims were teenagers and children.
Yesterday’s ceremony was the first time that Ma and Tsai were present at the same event since the presidential and legislative elections last month, in which Tsai of the Democratic Progressive Party won the presidency and her party won a majority of seats in Taiwan’s 113-seat legislature.
Lai sat between Ma and Tsai, who shook hands with each other, but did not talk during the event, local media reported.
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