In front of the eyes of their families and television audiences nationwide, four workers holding onto each other for dear life vanished in the quickly rising torrent of the Pachang Creek
The planning and implementation of Taiwan's disaster prevention and relief system did not have a legal basis until recently. After Typhoon Herb left its trail of destruction, the Executive Yuan finally sent the Disaster Prevention and Relief Bill to the Legislative Yuan. However, neither the ruling party nor the opposition parties at the time paid much attention to the bill. As a result, the government's disaster-relief, damage-reduction and reconstruction efforts were still rather chaotic after the devastating 921 earthquake.
It was no great surprise that the KMT lost votes in mid-Taiwan in the March election, as this reflected the dissatisfaction of the people in that region. Despite the mayhem caused by the 921 quake, it still took about 10 months before the Disaster Prevention and Relief Law was enacted.
The new administration's attitude has been one reason for the delay. First, the Executive Yuan refused to establish a special government entity in charge of disaster prevention and relief. Instead, it planned to assign part-time personnel, temporarily. How can you expect any success in disaster prevention and relief works -- which requires the professionalism of well-disciplined personnel -- when the central government refuses to either provide or fund the manpower? Even though a special agency was eventually established, the Executive Yuan was willing to assign just 29 staff members to handle all disasters nationwide.
Second, the Executive Yuan has retained a rather conservative view about the status of the special agency. It planned to have the National Fire Administration, an agency of the Ministry of Interior, be in charge of disaster prevention and relief work. It should go without saying that the head of a mere agency under the interior ministry would have a hard time giving orders to high-ranking officials in the Ministry of National Defense and National Police Administration.
Third, despite proposals to put a bureau in charge of disaster prevention and relief work, the Executive Yuan decided to establish a committee instead. The performance of this special agency has been less than ideal as a result.
Fourth, nuclear, biological and viral disasters were excluded from the scope of coverage by the new law. According to the Executive Yuan, the prevention and relief of these disasters requires too much professional knowledge. However, such disasters may cause greater fatalities and financial losses than other man-made or natural disasters.
But if such a disaster happens, is the government going to stand idly by? Isn't the point of enacting a new law precisely to prevent disasters from happening by reinforcing training and instruction, and gradually improving the professionalism of personnel?
The enactment of the Disaster Prevention and Relief Law did bring some hope to the people of Taiwan, despite the delays and problems. The Pachang Creek tragedy came just one month after the enactment of the law. We hope the government will deal with this tragedy sincerely and do its best to prevent more tragedies. Otherwise, people could express their dissatisfaction with their votes.
Liu Shih-wei is a researcher at the Graduate Institute of Building and Planning, National Taiwan University.
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