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MORAKOT: THE AFTERMATH: DPP expects NT$200bn reconstruction budget request

Two people are pictured near a collapsed bridge in the village of Meishan in Chiayi County yesterday. PHOTO: PATRICK LIN, AFP

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus said yesterday it expected the Cabinet to request a special budget of at least NT$200 billion (US$6 billion) for reconstruction.

DPP whip Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) told a press conference that his caucus would support the special budget proposal, but it should equal that of the reconstruction budget after the 921 Earthquake.

The government requested a total of NT$210 billion for reconstruction after a major earthquake hit the nation on Sept 21, 1999.

“We hope the Cabinet would request a minimum budget of NT$200 billion to maintain employment and help small and medium businesses recover [after the disaster],” Wang said. “The government can spend as much money as it wants. We will not block the budget proposal.”

The Executive Yuan said on Wednesday it still had about NT$40 billion from this year's budget that it could use for relief work and reconstruction. However, it changed its mind late on Thursday night and said it would pursue a special statute to request a special budget of at least NT$70 billion.

Senior Cabinet officials calculated losses caused by Morakot and concluded that more funds would be needed for reconstruction.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) said his caucus would fully cooperate if the legislature were to hold an extraordinary session to review the budget proposal.

The fall legislative session is scheduled to begin on Sept. 18.

Wang said the DPP caucus would also invite officials of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Council of Agriculture and the Ministry of Education to a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the three agencies' proposal to grant stipends to victims of the disaster.

KMT Aboriginal Legislator Kung Wen-chi (孔文吉) urged the government to submit a special reconstruction plan for southern Taiwan to the legislature.

Kung, who has just returned to Taipei from the disaster-hit Aboriginal village of Jialan (嘉蘭) in Jinfong Township (金峰) in Taitung County, called on the government to learn from the Marshall Plan.

The Marshall Plan, or the European Recovery Program, was proposed by the US after the World War II to help rebuild countries in western Europe.

“Whether it takes NT$100 or NT$200 billion to complete the reconstruction work, the government should show its resolution to carry out reconstruction work,” Kung said.
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