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Chen tells officials to cut red tape, speed storm aid

President Chen Shui-bian frolics in the spotlight with members of the Cloud Gate 2 dance troupe during a youth forum sponsored by the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday. PHOTO: LIU HSIN-TEH, TAIPEI TIMES

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday urged officials in disaster areas to allocate relief funds as soon as possible to those whose homes were damaged by Tropical Storm Mindulle last month.

"One should replace multifarious governmental formalities with an active and constructive manner" to assist disaster victims, Chen said during a visit in Nantou County to inspect rebuilding work.

Nantou County was among the areas most damaged on July 2, when floods and mudslides de-stroyed homes and bridges.

In response to disaster-area township wardens' complaints about the slow flow of aid from county governments, Chen said local government chiefs ought to communicate with the central government about disaster relief coordination.

The central government could undertake face-to-face communication with relevant agencies about disaster relief and rebuilding work in order to avoid delays in handling official documents, Chen said. The president also called for more ecological engineering.

Chen's trip also included a visit to congratulate the parents of Yuan Shu-chi (袁叔琪), a member of the nation's Olympic archery team. Although Yuan came in fourth in the individual competition, missing third place by one point, she and two teammates beat France on Friday to gain a bronze medal.

Later yesterday, Chen attended a Taipei performance by the internationally acclaimed Cloud Gate 2 (雲門舞集2) modern dance troupe.

The performance was part of a series of activities organized by the Presidential Office to promote young viewers' appreciation of diverse cultures.

Chen encouraged the nation's young adults to "care for oneself and appreciate others."

Chen was invited to go onstage with the dancers and seemed to enjoy his literally offbeat performance, as did the audience.

Other events scheduled for upcoming weekends include a traditional Taiwanese puppet show, Beijing opera and comic dialogue (相聲). Presidential Office deputy secretary-general James Huang (黃志芳) said that Chen would try to appear at several more of these events if his official schedule allows.
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