Mon, Oct 04, 1999 page1

• Relief funds become politicized

  RESCUE DIPLOMACY As local politicians hand out earthquake relief funds, various sectors of society are beginning to question the way in which the relationship between local and central government functions in Taiwan

  • By Lauren Chen / STAFF REPORTER
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  While the lives of many survivors of the Sept. 21 earthquake remain shattered, officials from the KMT and DPP at both the central and local government levels have wasted little time in attacking one another in a tit-for-tat game of "rescue diplomacy" amid the ruins.

  Critics said the war of words was a good example of "the pot calling the kettle black." Nan Fang-shuo (南方朔), a prominent social critic, said that the finger-pointing was only relative.

  "The KMT is the big incompetent accusing the DPP, the relatively small incompetent. By observing relief efforts so far, this has been a collective demonstration of the overall ineptness and chaos within the government that has been going on for the past few decades in Taiwan," he said.

  Liu San-chi (劉三錡), deputy director-general of the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting & Statistics, said yesterday that some local officials are taking credit for the central government's relief funds.

  "Since the earthquake hit on Sept. 21, we have allotted more than NT$6.2 billion to local governments, including the NT$2.2 billion we gave Nantou county. But according to our investigation, they [the Nantou county government] have only appropriated approximately NT$900 million. We have no idea where the rest of money is going," Liu said.

  "In the name of rescue operations, some local officials are in fact conducting political ploys," he said.

  Another central government official said after receiving money from the central government, some county commissioners have been waiting until compensation money is put into "red envelopes" -- onto which the names of the recipients and the county commissioners are printed -- before delivering them to victims and their families.

  Nantou County magistrate Peng Pai-hsien (彭百顯), of the DPP, dismissed the central government's claims as "an untrue story and an effort to blacken his name."

  "After distributing compensation to victims and circulating funds to township councils, we have inadequate funds for granting subsidies to those whose houses collapsed or partially collapsed,'' Peng said.

  "Even though I want to gather the necessary money, I don't have much money to gather," Peng added.

  "The central government has all sorts of power to cash relief checks, but checks are not tantamount to votes,'' he said.

  KMT officials, meanwhile, have continued to brush off attacks on the government's efforts.

  "The media as well as the public has only blamed the KMT-dominated central government, but is at the same time ignoring the responsibility of DPP-controlled local county governments. It's really unfair," said Lee Yuan-chun (李源泉), the KMT's director-general of social affairs, on Friday.

  The arguments over money and power between the central and local governments are also being replayed between county governments and townships.

  Chiang Lien-fu (江連福), the mayor of Tai-ping city (太平市) in Taichung county, said county magistrate Liao Yung-lai (廖永來) raised what he called a bias against the non-DPP-controlled city.

  "In order to bolster his own reputation, Liao insists on distributing the compensation personally, using public resources as if they were his own political favors," Chiang said.

  "Liao has never supported rescue work in KMT-controlled cities, instead pouring all the resources into DPP municipalities such as Tali City (大里市).''

  Not everyone, however, shared Chiang's view. Chang Chin-hu (張錦湖), the mayor of Tung-shih township (東勢鎮), Taichung county, said that although he is a KMT member, the interaction between Liao and himself has been similar to that of other mayors.

  "Before the quake, some township mayors had already experienced difficulties in communicating with Liao, and the quake has further exposed the problem," said Chang.

  After hearing such complaints from KMT township mayors, vice president and KMT vice-chairman Lien Chan (連戰) suggested the central government distribute compensation money directly to township mayors.

  That idea, however, came under fire from Taichung city Mayor Chang Wen-ying (張溫鷹) and Taichung county Magistrate Liao Yung-lai, both of the DPP, and Nantou magistrate Peng Pai-hsien, a former DPP member.

  Some township mayors said it would be better to allow them to take charge of distribution, seeing as they have greater knowledge of the disaster areas than other institutions or politicians.

  "As long as the proper criteria has been established, we need only one morning to finish the job, unlike local county governments that waste a lot of time looking for the right person and right place," said HungTun-jen (洪敦仁), mayor of Chao-tun township (草屯鎮), in Nantou county.

  "The government always avoids the major issues and instead expends most of their energy on trivial matters," Hung added.
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