More than 100 business representatives yesterday participated in a ceremony in Taipei to announce their intention to participate in the government’s reconstruction projects to tackle the devastation caused in large areas of southern Taiwan last month by Typhoon Morakot.
“When I was in the south, I heard a victim say that the north is Taiwan’s treasury, the south is its food factory, and the east is its holiday destination, which made me think that when there are places suffering hardship, we have to help them,” said Rock Hsu (許勝雄), chairman of Kinpo Group (金仁寶).
FEEDBACK
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
The contribution of businesses to the reconstruction effort is not only in response to the government’s expectations, but also to give something back to society, Hsu said.
“Disaster victims need more than a job. They need to develop industries that can link up with local culture. It’s never easy. Having good intentions is not enough, the government must have the implementation capacity to coordinate resources poured in by business,” Hsu said.
GUIDELINES
Hon Hai Group chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) said that any reconstruction projects should be carried out according to land restoration and water management guidelines.
“If we can’t do well in the reconstruction to survive flooding caused by the next El Nino, it is possible that businesses’ responsibility will be looked into in the future,” Gou said.
Gou said that he also worried that the rules and regulations on the government’s procurement and construction projects would cause inefficiency and hinder private sector participation.
MISGIVINGS
In response, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) tried to clear up misgivings.
Liu said that all reconstruction projects would be implemented consistent with the principles of land recovery and that the Executive Yuan’s Post-Typhoon Morakot Reconstruction Committee would serve as a window for coordination between the government and business.
Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘) laid out the government’s vision of rebuilding ravaged villages, saying that they would be model communities where the natural environment is preserved, people live a high-tech life and agriculture or industry thrives.
HOME NOT HOUSE
Liu said the government’s goal is to help victims establish a “home” and not just a “house.”
Chao Teng-hsiung (趙藤雄), chairman of the Taipei-based Far Glory Group (遠雄集團), said that he would like to talk to victims face to face to understand what they think of the reconstruction plan.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about