Taipei Times: Following Typhoon Nari, tropical storm Lekima may bring more heavy rains to Taiwan as the Central Weather Bureau has issued the sea and land warnings. Is Taipei City ready for another typhoon? Do you feel confident about the city's anti-typhoon measures?
Ou Chin-der (
I'm also worried about the low-lying areas of Nankang and Neihu districts since the pumping stations there were not yet fully operational. If, unfortunately, we're to see as much rainfall as was unleashed by Typhoon Nari -- or even possibly more -- we might have to resort to stacking sand bags along the river banks.
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
TT: A Chinese saying goes: take the experience you learn from the previous failure and use it as a valuable lesson for next time. What did Taipei City learn from the destruction brought by Typhoon Nari?
Ou: We learned that we have to really think about our anti-flooding system, because Typhoon Nari has clearly proven to us that the present system doesn't work. However, improvements may take time.
TT: As you are an engineer yourself, what's your advice on tackling the city's problems of flooding and mudslides?
Ou: The anti-flooding project is a long-term effort but the bottom line is we have to make it stronger. To achieve this goal we need to understand the causes of the problems and how to take care of it.
Our anti-flooding system definitely needs a comprehensive overhaul. Times are changing, so are people, societies, urban development and natural phenomena. Infrastructure built 20 years ago isn't necessarily obsolete, but it may need re-examination or even reconstruction in a bid to solve the problem once and for all.
TT: Many city councilors and political critics have blamed City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou for the crisis, saying that he seems to be more interested in attending social activities than with minding municipal affairs. The mayor himself has also admitted during an interview with the `Taipei Times' that he spends most of his time outside of his office. What are your thoughts on this?
Ou: As a public figure, Mayor Ma is obliged to attend social functions. One of the reasons why people feel the mayor engages in too many social activities may be because such activities receive more media attention than regular meetings.
Although he may spend most of his time outside the office, this could mean that he spends more time on duties like the inspection of municipal infrastructure and talking to the public.
TT: Although Mayor Ma keeps reiterating the importance of the management of hillside areas, we are still seeing more buildings constructed on hillsides. We are also starting to see mudslides occurring within the city. What does the city plan to do to tackle the problem?
Ou: We want to ensure the safety of hillside development as a long-term effort. In other words, the problem cannot be solved overnight. We've been gathering basic information about hillside areas that pose potential or immediate danger. We hope to earmark more funds in the future to speed up the process.
TT: The first wave of an intensive clean-up scheme to clear away garbage left in the wake of Typhoon Nari ended yesterday. What should the public do if more garbage is generated and needs to be disposed of?
Ou: We encourage those who wish to dispose of large-size waterlogged refuse to contact the environmental protection bureau and arrange for free pick-ups. (The 24-hour hot-line is 02-2720-6301)
Those who wish to dispose of industrial waste, however, need to contact private clean-up companies to arrange for pick-ups.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2