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MORAKOT: THE AFTERMATH : Taipei ‘adopts’ Linbian Township

The Taipei City Government said yesterday it would “adopt” relief and reconstruction work in Linbian Township (林邊), Pingtung County, and would issue NT$5,000 in relief money to each household that was hit by Typhoon Morakot.

The city government will take Linbian as a district in assisting the town with relief and reconstruction efforts, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said yesterday at Taipei City Hall, adding that more than 400 staff from the city government, including 98 firefighters and staff at the Environmental Protection, Social Welfare and Civil Affairs departments were stationed in the town for post-disaster reconstruction work.

Hau said the city government expected to give a total of NT$30 million (US$910,000) to 6,000 households in Linbian. The money came from the city’s relief fund, which has collected more than NT$100 million in donations from municipal residents and civil servants.

“Taipei City’s rescue team arrived at Linbian Township soon after the town was seriously damaged by the typhoon. The situation was far worse than we had expected, and so we decided to adopt the town and take care of the people,” he said.

Hau said the city ­government was willing to “adopt” more ­disaster-hit towns and offer assistance if other local governments needed Taipei City’s help.

At a separate setting yesterday, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus urged other cities and counties in northern Taiwan that were not seriously affected by the typhoon to volunteer to help a township in southern Taiwan with reconstruction.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
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