Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) promised yesterday to get to the root of the flooding problem that hurts Taiwan every typhoon season.
Approached by reporters during a visit to Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), Liu said the government had “blind spots” when it tried to prevent floods by raising the height of dikes without considering that rivers might change course.
He said the government would have to spend NT$500 billion (US$16.4 billion) to expropriate riverside land to dredge rivers.
PHOTO: LIN KUEI-HSIU, TAIPEI TIMES
“We should be creative [in achieving the goal],” he said.
He also promised full cooperation if local governments need to spend money tagged for spurring domestic demand on flood prevention.
“We also hope to allow some flexibility,” Liu said.
PHOTO: CNA
There has been widespread criticism of flood-prevention efforts in the wake of flooding and landslides caused by Tropical Storm Kalmaegi.
Last night, the premier invited Minister of the Interior Liao Liou-yi (廖了以), Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘) and Water Resources Agency head Chen Shen-hsien (陳伸賢) to a Cabinet meeting later in the evening to review the government’s performance.
The Cabinet said Minister Without Portfolio Chang Chin-fu (張進福) should invite experts and the Central Weather Bureau to review the bureau’s forecasting system and present a report within the week.
It also said that the Water Resources Agency should conduct a review within the week into the government’s eight-year flood prevention package.
“The premier said that he did not expect the storm to cause such massive damage,” Liao said, apologizing for what he said was a failure in forecasting.
Lawmakers, however, warned that Lin’s offer of “flexibility” on budget allocations might violate the Budget Act (預算法).
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) said the government could not spend money specified for one purpose on something else.
He said the premier had only made suggestions on how to prevent flooding, but that everything must be done legally.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said it would be illegal for the Cabinet to spend the budget allocated for boosting domestic demand on flood prevention.
He vowed to closely oversee the Cabinet’s spending and would not rule out the possibility of referring the Cabinet to the Control Yuan for investigation.
Meanwhile, the DPP’s Taipei office yesterday urged the government to divert leftover money raised for Sichuan earthquake relief efforts to flood-relief efforts at home.
Office director Huang Ching-lin (黃慶林) said the government had collected more than NT$4.5 billion for Sichuan quake relief efforts from the public and there was about NT$100 million left over.
DPP Taipei City Councilor Chou Po-ya (周柏雅) said the government should use the quake relief money for reconstruction projects in disaster areas.
It should assess losses and use the funds to help victims, he said.
Environmentalists urged the government to restrict agriculture and other development efforts in high mountain areas and implement more water control measures.
Liou Ming-lone (劉銘龍), chairman of the Environmental Quality Protection Foundation, said the government must prohibit further construction in the mountains and overhaul urban drainage systems.
Catchment ponds and floodwater management facilities on the edges of cities must be made more effective to prevent urban areas from flooding, Liou said.
He said that several catchment ponds built two or three years ago in Kaohsiung City had proved their usefulness this year.
He said residents in flood-prone areas should change their lifestyles and use the ground floors of their homes as garages to limit losses.
“The government should change its mindset of preventing flooding only by constructing dikes or water gates,” said Pan Han-chiang (潘翰疆), secretary-general of the Taiwan Environmental Action Network, as these were superficial measures.
The key to flood prevention lies in water and soil conservation, neither of which the government pays enough attention to, Pan said.
Additional reporting by Ko Shu-ling and CNA
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