Six lengths of bamboo and some string was the only thing between Wang Qiu-liang and the raging waters below her.
Slipping off the makeshift bridge and falling into the powerful waters would likely be fatal. But a week after Typhoon Morakot destroyed the concrete footbridge that had connected the 53-year-old’s village to the outside world, Wang decided she would risk anything to get to the village and search for her missing loved ones.
Nearby, rescue workers watched in frustration, unable to stop Wang and others crossing the bridge to get to Hsinfa (新發) in Kaohsiung County.
“I don’t care about the danger. I just want to see my people. Four members of my family were buried alive and there are 10 more still trapped there,” Wang said, tears streaming down her face as she pointed to the hill across the river.
On the other side, broken roads, flattened plantations and endless swathes of rubble awaited Wang, one of the first to cross the bamboo poles.
“What they are doing is extremely dangerous,” fireman Kevin Kuo said. “The mudslides can return any time if the rain upstream gets heavier.”
“But how can we stop them from going to find their relatives?” he asked as he filmed the villagers crossing the bridge with a hand-held camera as documentation in case of them were swept away.
Before they built the bamboo bridge, some villagers had tried wading across the river, but rescuers pulled them from the waters as the rapids threatened to sweep them away.
Elsewhere, the magnitude of destruction has left its mark everywhere in Liukuei Township (六龜).
“I haven’t gotten proper sleep for such a long time. It is going to take us a long time to rebuild this town,” a weary-eyed police officer said.
Meanwhile, a policeman in Liukuei who was airlifted to safety after being stranded on the roof of his police station for four days, said he had survived by not losing hope, praying and holding onto a steel beam to withstand the floodwaters.
Chang Hui-cheng (張輝政), resting in a hospital after being rescued last Tuesday, said the ordeal started when Morakot began dumping heavy rain on his village of Nansalu (南沙魯) in Namasiya Township (那瑪夏).
He said he persuaded tourists in the area to leave as soon as possible, and they all followed his advice. But villagers were reluctant to evacuate, saying that Jesus Christ would take care of them, Chang said.
Chang said he tried to get some rest after helping with evacuation efforts, but the storm soon broke windows on the first floor of the police station.
Realizing the danger of flooding, he ran up to the roof of the three-story building, where he huddled in his raincoat and held onto a steel beam to prevent himself from being washed away by the floodwaters.
During his four-day ordeal, Chang said he was exhausted but knew that relaxing his guard could be fatal.
“The waterproof raincoat saved my life, as it kept me warm,” Chang said.
When he was rescued, he had eaten nothing since his lunch four days earlier. He was able to maintain some strength by drinking rainwater.
“Aside from God, there was nobody I could ask for help when I was trapped,” Chang said.
He prayed continuously, asking God to keep the police station from giving way to the floodwaters.
On Tuesday Chang saw a helicopter fly overhead. He attracted its attention by waving a red cloth and was flown to safety.
On the same day at almost the same time, Chang’s wife, children and a number of villagers were also airlifted to safety, Chang said.
The policeman, who applied to retire in April, said the first thing he does after retiring will be to rebuild his home.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday voiced dissatisfaction with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), whose latest meeting, concluded earlier the same day, appeared not to address the country’s application. In a statement, MOFA said the CPTPP commission had "once again failed to fairly process Taiwan’s application," attributing the inaction to the bloc’s "succumbing to political pressure," without elaborating. Taiwan submitted its CPTPP application under the name "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu" on Sept. 22, 2021 -- less than a week after China
THE GOOD WORD: More than 100 colleges on both sides of the Pacific will work together to bring students to Taiwan so they can learn Mandarin where it is spoken A total of 102 universities from Taiwan and the US are collaborating in a push to promote Taiwan as the first-choice place to learn Mandarin, with seven Mandarin learning centers stood up in the US to train and support teachers, the Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan (FICHET) said. At the annual convention of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages held over the weekend in New Orleans, Louisiana, a Taiwan Pavilion was jointly run by 17 representative teams from the FICHET, the Overseas Community Affairs Council, the Steering Committee for the Test of Proficiency-Huayu, the
A home-style restaurant opened by a Taiwanese woman in Quezon City in Metro Manila has been featured in the first-ever Michelin Guide honoring exceptional restaurants in the Philippines. The restaurant, Fong Wei Wu (豐味屋), was one of 74 eateries to receive a “Michelin Selected” honor in the guide, while one restaurant received two Michelin stars, eight received one star and 25 were awarded a “Bib Gourmand.” The guide, which was limited to restaurants in Metro Manila and Cebu, was published on Oct. 30. In an interview, Feng Wei Wu’s owner and chef, Linda, said that as a restaurateur in her 60s, receiving an
MORE RETALIATION: China would adopt a long-term pressure strategy to prevent other countries or future prime ministers following in Sanae Takaichi’s steps, an academic said Taiwan should maintain communications with Japan, as Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is to lead a revision of security documents, Taiwanese academics said yesterday. Tensions have risen between Japan and China over remarks by Takaichi earlier this month that the use of force against Taiwan would constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan. Prospect Foundation president Lai I-chung (賴怡忠) yesterday said Takaichi’s stance regarding Taiwan is the same as past Japanese prime ministers, but her position is clearer than that of her predecessors Fumio Kishida and Shigeru Ishiba. Although Japan views a “Taiwan contingency” as a “survival-threatening situation,” which would allow its military to
RSS