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 (
"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 (
"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 (
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 (
Not everyone, however, shared Chiang's view. Chang Chin-hu (
"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 (
That idea, however, came under fire from Taichung city Mayor Chang Wen-ying (
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 (
"The government always avoids the major issues and instead expends most of their energy on trivial matters," Hung added.
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
MATAIAN RIVER: Rescue operations were ongoing, with officials urging residents to move to higher floors where possible as teams focus first on those at ground level Floodwaters from the overflowing Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) barrier lake swept into Hualien County’s Guangfu Township (光復) yesterday afternoon, leaving hundreds of people trapped and three missing as of press time last night, the Hualien County Fire Bureau said. The waters surged into downtown Guangfu after the riverbank burst at about 2:50pm, carrying mud and debris and submerging streets to rooftop level in some areas. Residents were seen climbing onto vehicles and rooftops to await rescue as thick, silt-laden water inundated the town. The surge destroyed the Mataian Bridge (馬太鞍溪橋) and flooded the Guangfu Railway Station. Rescue operations were launched with support from fire departments
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,
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