Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday backtracked on remarks he made this weekend that he did not relish giving Aborigines the choice of continuing to live on their original tribal lands or relocating to villages newly built to accommodate victims affected by a deadly typhoon in August last year.
“I respect anyone who plans to [join the protest] to voice his or her opinions [on the government’s policies on post-Typhoon Morakot reconstruction], and I understand their feelings. I will conduct self-evaluation and work on that [policy],” Wu said.
He made the remarks in response to a planned overnight protest on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office on Friday night.
The protest was organized by Taiwan Aboriginal Tribes Action, a coalition of groups of victims of Morakot, which criticized the government for forcing the victims to move off of their native land.
Wu came under fire after telling a forum on Sunday, organized to highlight government achievements in post-Morakot reconstruction, that some Aboriginal activists who refused to relocate were “obstinate.”
“The government has spent several billion [dollars] building bridges and roads that have been washed away whenever there is a typhoon. There were occasions when military officers had to go by helicopter and risk their lives to save others ... People who care about Aborigines should encourage them to move out of dangerous [traditional lands],” Wu said.
Cabinet officials also called a press conference yesterday amid allegations that the government had forcefully removed typhoon victims who refused to relocate.
After experts inspected 291 typhoon-ravaged sites, the government determined that 19,191 people, or about 6,300 households, lived in unsafe areas.
About three-quarters of affected people are Aborigines.
Post-Typhoon Morakot Reconstruction Commission vice chairman Chen Chen-chuan (陳振川) said that as of February, about two-thirds, or 11,707 people, still lived in tribal areas, while the remainder lived in permanent housing built for the victims.
“This shows that we did not force victims to relocate to permanent houses,” Chen said.
Of the 291 sites examined, 136 were considered safe to live and 155 unsafe.
Chen said the reconstruction commission held 115 conferences to explain its relocation policy to people living in the unsafe areas and 141 meetings in which officials consulted with residents on their willingness to relocate.
The relocation of typhoon victims involved officials from the central government and local governments, as well as local politicians and residents, Chen said.
“We respect everyone’s choice to either live where they originally lived or to move into permanent houses,” Chen said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it