Although the Legislative Yuan approved President Lee Teng-hui's (
Even officials have begun to criticize government efforts.
Yesterday Vice Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (
"Relief work cannot be postponed anymore. If anything goes wrong, I will accept responsibility over the next six months,'' Liu said, referring to the time-limit of the emergency decree.
Liu criticized the bureaucratic attitude of some officials, and cited disability certification for victims as an example. He said it surprised him to discover that although this certification is issued by the Department of Health, official document procedure requires that it be confirmed by the Ministry of the Interior.
Time lags while documents are passed from one department to another have delayed the central government's reconstruction measures, and has generated a wave of complaints from disaster victims.
Liu demanded that public servants expedite document processing to aid rehabilitation efforts.
Liu's comments were made with reference to President Lee's Sept. 25 declaration of a state of emergency in areas affected by the earthquake, which is aimed at getting rebuilding efforts in these areas under way as soon as possible.
The Legislative Yuan approved the emergency decree in a rarely seen unanimous vote Tuesday.
After the legislature passed the decree, the Cabinet, led by Liu, set up a headquarters in Taichung City to take charge of reconstruction.
The central and local governments have been condemned for playing politics while most survivors continue to live in tents.
"The central government has made many policies, but unfortunately, we [local government] are incapable of enforcing them.
"The needs of the victims are constantly outpacing the the Cabinet's imagination,'' said Pang Pai-hsien (
"There are over 100,000 residents in Nantou who have no place to live and no water or electricity," Pang said. "They live like refugees.''
With government agencies constantly passing the buck, it is not surprising that reconstruction is not going ahead as planned.
"The military deserves more praise than the government,'' said Ms Lin, a Puli resident and a volunteer at a temporary medical tent. "At least the soldiers helped us set up the tents. So far, I have no idea what immediate benefits the emergency decree has brought to us,'' she added.
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