As laborers in Taiwan celebrated the Labor Day holiday yesterday, about 100 victims of last year's 921 earthquake gathered at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei to air their grievances over the loss of loved ones and appeal to the new government to keep its promise of assistance.
"We hope the new government will learn from the mistakes made by the old government, realize its promise of political and social reforms, and offer substantial assistance to the survivors to help them get back on their feet as soon as possible," said Chen Hui-tze (陳惠澤), chairman of the 921 Earthquake Victims Alliance.
Yesterday's march, dubbed the "worship of deceased workers," marked the second of its kind staged by the Alliance. About 100 relatives of victims from Taichung, Nantou, Miaoli, and Taipei regions started the march at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and then proceeded to the nearby KMT headquarters, where they chanted and sang in remembrance of the deceased.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
They also made an announcement reminding the new government of its pledge to survivors.
"The purpose of the worship is not only to grieve over the deceased, but also to give the survivors a chance to learn from the tragedy and to help them entertain new hopes for their future," Chen said.
On Dec. 29, 1999 -- exactly 100 days after the earthquake -- nearly 1,000 members of the alliance staged their first demonstration in the Po-Ai district to protest against what they said was the continued suffering for 100 days since the tragedy struck.
In the leadup to the March 18 presidential election, nearly 2,000 victims of the 921 earthquake marched across Taipei city to appeal to the three major presidential candidates.
Lee Yuan-chih (李元基), a campaign official for Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), accepted a petition and promised the group that if elected, Chen would strive to carry out the five demands made by the group.
The demands are: the government should work as a claim-settling agent; it should take up the burden of victims' housing loans; it should help claim indemnity from building developers; civilian relief should be used solely for reconstruction, not for political reasons; and quake-related judicial cases should be taken to trial immediately.
Now, over seven months after the earthquake, victims said their lives have not gotten any better. Wei Chun-ling (
"Our residence was on the 12th floor of the 14-story building, which was the only one in the complex that collapsed during the quake. Twelve other residents were not so lucky," she said.
After the earthquake, Wei said she, with her husband and three children, stayed in a tent for half a month and later rented an apartment for two months. They have been living in a 100-household prefabricated housing complex since December.
Even though the accommodation was free, she said life continues to be hard because Wei's husband lost his job when his company was shut down after the earthquake.
"It's tough to feed five people with my NT$25,000 monthly salary," she said.
Thirty-five-year-old Hsu Su-fen (
Hsu said that inspections showed that the contractor jerry-built the building, but neither the contractor nor the government has offered any compensation.
"We're very disappointed with them," she said. "It's been seven months and I still don't see anything substantial done for us."
For the time being, Hsu, now seven months' pregnant, and her family, are living with their in-laws. Although they could probably get by with both of their incomes, Hsu said uncertainty about the future is something that really upsets them.
"We don't know when we'll be able to move back to our own house and we worry that we may lose our jobs at anytime," she said.
Chen Su-chin (
"I still have a hard time going back to the house to pick up my stuff, and I feel sick to my stomach whenever I see anything related to the disaster," she said.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from