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.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
AMENDMENT: Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of high-temperature days, affecting economic productivity and public health, experts said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) is considering amending the Meteorological Act (氣象法) to classify “high temperatures” as “hazardous weather,” providing a legal basis for work or school closures due to extreme heat. CWA Administrator Lu Kuo-chen (呂國臣) yesterday said the agency plans to submit the proposed amendments to the Executive Yuan for review in the fourth quarter this year. The CWA has been monitoring high-temperature trends for an extended period, and the agency contributes scientific data to the recently established High Temperature Response Alliance led by the Ministry of Environment, Lu said. The data include temperature, humidity, radiation intensity and ambient wind,
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist