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Sanchung folk shout Ma down

An elderly resident in Sanchung City complains to Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou about his huge financial losses, resulting from flooding, during the mayor's visit to the disaster area yesterday. PHOTO: YIN CHEN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES

Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) barely escaped being egged yesterday by angry Sanchung City residents, who suffered major property losses because of flooding from shoddy construction work by the Department of Rapid Transit Systems.

Ma took several bodyguards along for his second visit to Sanchung City since the flood, and offered apologies to residents of the Wenhua borough (文化里). Former city government spokesman Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇), who will run for a legislative seat in Sanchung City in the December elections, accompanied Ma to examine the immersed area's condition.

Many residents did not welcome the consoling words from Ma and his team.

"We came here to show our sincerity in apologizing," Ma said, but he was interrupted by the crowd.

"Stop putting on a show!" several angry residents yelled. One of them brought out a bag of eggs and tried to throw them at Ma, but he was quickly stopped by the mayor's guards.

"Ma did not see about the flood disaster until we cleaned up the city," said another furious resident. "We don't want to see him."

A man who runs a knotting wool store complained bitterly to Ma, saying he lost around NT$1 million and did not know what to do.

"We feel very sorry toward Sanchung citizens. We knew it [the damage] was the fault of the Department of Rapid Transit Systems," Ma said. He said he will continue to show his concern to victims and offer more help to them.

Mud is still everywhere in the flooded areas of Sanchung City. For days residents have worked to clear debris, and drenched sofas and mattresses were piled up with broken desks and chairs along the roads.

A foul smell permeated the area as residents continued scrubbing their floors and soaked furniture.

Over one-third of Sanchung's citizens suffered severe property losses, with an estimated total value of NT$2 billion, according to Taipei's Department of Rapid Transit Systems.

The department asked the suffering households to photograph their damage so that they could apply for compensation in the near future.

Meanwhile, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) also went to Sanchung City yesterday afternoon to inspect the flood damage, and asked government agencies to help residents restore their homes.

Chen also ordered city officials to apply lenient standards when reviewing victims' applications for compensation because the damage was due to human error that Ma and the city's Department of Rapid Transit Systems have accepted responsibility for.
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