Sat, Oct 02, 1999 page2

• Taipei mourns those who died in Tunghsing tragedy

  SOLEMN OCCASION City officials and residents held a service yesterday in front of the site where the 12-story building once stood, to pay respects to those who died in the collapse of the building on Sept. 21

  • By Monique Chu / STAFF REPORTER
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  Taipei officials and city residents shed tears and wept yesterday during a memorial service in front of the now-flattened site where the 12-story Tunghsing building (東星大樓) once stood.

  The building, which collapsed during the 921 earthquake, claimed 70 lives. Some 12 bodies are believed to still be buried beneath the rubble of the building.

  "I want to express my deepest apologies and condolences to those who lost their loved ones," Ou Chin-der (歐晉德), Taipei deputy mayor and head of rescue operations at the site, said. "I was unable to lead the rescue team to save your loved ones. It's the deepest regret of my whole life."

  

  Rescue workers who searched for survivors at the collapsed Tunghsing building in Taipei bow in silence at a ceremony honoring those who died in the 921 earthquake.

  PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING

  Ou, a civil engineering expert, saved two lives the first day of the rescue operation, city officials said.

  He also ventured into the wreckage dozens of times to check the safety of the structure and ensure that rescue strategies were safely organized, they said.

  Wearing yellow ribbons, city officials, relatives of those who were killed at the site, as well as over 1,500 rescuers -- fire department members, soldiers and members of various voluntary groups -- observed a minute's silence in honor of those who died in the collapse of the building on Pateh Road.

  

  Neighborhood chief Miss Wu kneels in prayer for the victims who died when the Tunghsing building in Taipei collapsed during the 921 earthquake.

  PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING

  At 10:15am, drivers of over 100 trucks and cars involved in rescue operations lined up in rows along Pateh Road and honked their horns for ten seconds to express solace for those who died at the site. Amid Buddhist chants, city officials then approached families of those who lost their loved ones and expressed their condolences.

  Many people wept. Sun Chi-kuang (孫啟光) and Sun Chi-feng (孫啟峰) -- the two brothers who were miraculously found alive amid the rubble 130 hours after the quake -- were among survivors attending the service.

  Their relatives, including the entire family of their aunt, Liu Yu-huan (柳玉環), who lived on the fourth floor of the building, did not survive the disaster.

  Sun Cheng (孫証), father of the two brothers, said he had mixed feelings.

  "Four members of Liu Yu-huan's family were pulled out of the wreckage and were confirmed dead. But her son -- referring to his nephew Lu Tse-hsu (呂則諝) -- is still missing," he said.

  Survivors, as well as those who lost their loved ones, then bowed to 1,500 rescuers to express their gratitude for their search-and-rescue efforts.

  Choking back tears, Chen Chung-yueh (陳崇岳), captain of the third unit of the city's fire department, said team members had tried their best to save as many people as possible. He also said he felt sad that the team could not rescue all who had been trapped inside the collapsed building.

  Ou said that he also felt that more could have been done.

  "I think we did our best," he said. "But if we think about it over and over, we wish we could have done more, of course."

  Ou then embraced Captain Chen and Fire Department Commissioner Chang Po-chin (張博卿), as the three men wept together.

  In related news, Taipei city officials announced yesterday that a concert and poetry recital will be held at Ta-an Forest Park (大安森林公園) at 7:00pm today to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the quake that killed more than 2,100 people throughout the country.

  Lung Ying-tai (龍應台), who has been appointed head of the city's Bureau of Culture, to be established in November, said today's event would be just the beginning of a long-term psychological rehabilitation period for those who have suffered from the quake.

  "Those who need comfort include survivors who bear a sense of guilt and those who risked their lives to rescue any possible survivors [in quake-stricken areas]," Lung said.

  Walis Nokan (瓦歷斯.諾幹), an Aboriginal poet who comes from the quake-stricken area of Shuanchi (雙崎) in Tzuyu village (自由村), Taichung County, said that over 70 percent of the dwellings in his village were no longer safe to live in.

  Nokan then recited a poem he had recently composed, entitled "Children, don't be afraid" (孩子， 要怕).

  "I decided to attend this event because I want to comfort those who died in the earthquake, as well as those who survived," Nokan said.

  "But at the same time, I want to comfort my own soul, too."

  Beginning at 2pm today, some 20,000 yellow ribbons will be distributed to the public in surrounding areas of the park, allowing participants to tie the ribbons to trees to express their personal condolences for those who died in the 921 earthquake.
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