Opposition blasts earthquake reconstruction efforts

Opposition lawmakers yesterday lashed out at what they called the government's slow progress in carrying out 921 earthquake reconstruction and mishandling of relief donations.

"Although the government has only managed to carry out less than 60 percent of the planned earthquake reconstruction, the authorities have been eager to exaggerate their pathetic achievements," said KMT lawmaker Chu Feng-chi (朱鳳芝) yesterday.

The 921 earthquake -- which registered 7.3 on the Richter scale -- rattled the nation on Sept. 21, 1999, claiming over 2,400 lives and destroying over 100,000 homes.

With the third anniversary of the 921 earthquake around the corner, Chu and another KMT lawmaker, Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), held a news conference yesterday to evaluate the government's reconstruction process.

The conference was attended by some 10 opposition lawmakers from the KMT and the PFP.

As of Sept. 6, the money appropriated by the 921 Earthquake Reconstruction Foundation (ERDF) for the reconstruction effort was about NT$8.3 billion, less than 60 percent of the nearly NT$15 billion in public donations that poured in after the temblor, according to Chu.

EDRF is in charge of managing the donations received by the central government with the goal of helping earthquake victims rebuild their homes.

"The government spent hundreds of millions of dollars on field research and reconstruction proposals without ever putting proposals into practice," Hung said.

"Compared to the Buddhist Compassionate Relief Tzu Chi Foundation (慈濟功德會), which has already dedicated 83.9 percent of the donations it gathered to the reconstruction efforts, the efficiency of the government is unsatisfactory," Hung said.

But Executive Director of the EDRF Shieh Jyh-cherng (謝志誠) told the Taipei Times yesterday that the foundation is primarily in charge of rebuilding public buildings, which is a complex and time-consuming matter since the issue involves land and property.

"The reconstruction timetables are often out of our control," said Chieh, adding that since Tzu-chi was focusing on the reconstruction of schools, construction could begin right as soon as the money was appropriated.

The opposition lawmakers also accused the Cabinet of spending more than NT$73 million out of their nearly NT$100 million on propagating their reconstruction achievements through newsletters, brochures and media advertisements.

But Wu Kun-mao (吳崑茂), deputy-executive director of the Cabinet's 921 Earthquake Post Disaster Recovery Commission, said that the lawmakers were exaggerating.

"The money was not spent on boasting, but on disseminating important information to the public regarding reconstruction progress or policies," he said.

Kuo Yao-chi (郭瑤琪), newly appointed chairwoman of the Cabinet's ad hoc 921 Reconstruction Commission, also sought to dismiss the lawmakers' allegations.

Kuo said the government had not mislead the public on reconstruction efforts.

"In addition to the examination by the Ministry of the Interior, the construction projects are overseen by both the public and the county and city councils because all of the information is available online," Kuo said.

"I think it's important for both the lawmakers and the media to go down to the disaster areas and see for themselves what has been achieved," she said.

"I believe most of the people down there will tell them that they're grateful for what the government has done for them because that's what they tell me when I'm down there."