Post-typhoon relief efforts and compensation payments triggered a political mud-fight between local and central government officials and between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday.
At issue was the whereabouts of some of the NT$1 billion (US$30.4 million) in disaster relief funds issued by the central government to the Pingtung County Government almost two weeks ago.
Top officials from Linbian Township (林邊) attacked the county government for failing to provide NT$2 million to the township, although some Linbian residents told reporters that they had received NT$30,000 per household two weeks ago.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
The county government, meanwhile, said it has distributed NT$140 million so far to disaster victims.
The furor erupted after KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) issued a press release on Sunday after visiting Linbian and Jiadong Township (佳冬), accusing the Pingtung County Government of delaying distribution of disaster relief funds from the central government.
Flood victims in the two townships told him they “had not received a penny in funding,” Wu said, even though the central government had issued a NT$1 billion relief funds almost two weeks ago.
He said the county government was inefficient and “the [delay] was beyond belief.”
Linbian Township Mayor Chen Chu-yun (陳朱雲) said she hadn’t seen any of the money because she had not filed an official request to the county.
“How was I supposed to issue an official document? We were without electricity the day it happened [the flooding]. In the case of a major natural disaster, shouldn’t the procedure for receiving aid be simplified?” Chen said.
A teary Hong Jun-jen (洪俊仁), secretary-general fo Linbian said: “I didn’t know that [telling Wu about not receiving funds] would cause such a chain reaction … I apologize to the nation. All I wanted was the NT$2 million for disaster relief. I didn’t know that I was supposed to file an official document to receive the funds.”
However, Pingtung County Commissioner Tsao Chi-hung (曹啟鴻) said residents who claimed they hadn’t seen any money were lying.
“I have distributed about NT$140 million to Linbian residents. It is already in their pockets … When they said that they had not received a penny, it was not the truth,” Tsai said.
KMT and DPP lawmakers jumped into the fray at separate press conferences.
KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) questioned whether Tsao was more concerned about his own political agenda.
“Are you retaining the money so that you can offer favors to people? Don’t you know to give the money to the disaster victims immediately?” Lin said.
DPP legislators, however, said the KMT was making false allegations in a bid to distract the public.
“The KMT is merely blurring the focus of people, so that they forget how poorly the government is handling disaster relief,” DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said.
At a separate press conference, DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said that Wu had accused Tsao without knowing all the details.
“Some NT$800 million of the NT$1 billion disaster relief fund has been allocated to victims and family subsidies for deaths, missing, injuries, flood and relocation,” Cheng said.
“In addition, as of August 21, 5,189 households in Linbian and 1,828 households in Jiadong had each received NT$20,000 in flood relief funds, which makes up another NT$140 million,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Pingtung County Government said it had wired NT$27 million to Linbian Township Office yesterday.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
MULTIPRONGED APPROACH: China has sought to pressure Palau across a number of fronts, but the island nation has staunchly resisted overtures to ditch Taiwan Palau has been firm in backing Taiwan despite Chinese pressure that uses tourism economics, cyberattacks and criminal infiltration as tools to threaten the Pacific ally into renouncing its recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state. The Presidential Office yesterday announced that Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) would visit Palau from Saturday to Wednesday next week at the invitation of Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr. Whipps in April said in an interview that China had outspokenly asked Palau to “denounce Taiwan.” “And we have said: ‘We have no enemies, but nobody tells us who our friends are,’” he said. Whipps has told reporters multiple times
RSS