Thu, Apr 21, 2022 page3

• Report targets village relocation issues

  POLICIES NEEDED: Villagers moved because of Typhoon Morakot had many complaints, one of which was that their new houses were rushed and had problems such as leaks

  • By Jason Pan / Staff reporter
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  The Control Yuan yesterday presented a report on relocation of indigenous villages following Typhoon Morakot in 2009, calling for policy changes and better oversight mechanisms.

  Policies for relocating people in mountainous regions due to natural disasters are needed, including oversight mechanisms to ensure the quality and safety of new housing, as well as the participation of residents throughout the process, the report said.

  After Typhoon Morakot struck southern Taiwan in August 2009, requiring more than 40 villages to be resettled, numerous issues emerged regarding relocations to areas that were deemed safer.

  

  From left, Control Yuan members Antonio Hong, Pasuya Poiconu, Yeh Ta-hua and Chi Hui-jung at the Control Yuan in Taipei yesterday present a report on indigenous village relocations following Typhoon Morakot in 2009.

  Photo: Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei Times

  The catastrophe led experts and government officials to designate it as the “worst natural disaster in Taiwan’s history,” with 699 people killed and estimated economic losses in excess of NT$1 trillion (US$34.19 billion at current exchange rate).

  Some resettled communities have complained of poor-quality construction, the report said.

  After villagers filed a petition in November 2020, a task force conducted a probe that lasted a year, with on-site assessments headed by four Control Yuan members: Pasuya Poiconu of the Tsou people, Antonio Hong (鴻義章), an Amis, and Yeh Ta-hua (葉大華) and Chi Hui-jung (紀惠容).

  Yeh introduced the report, saying that under government programs, 43 resettlement communities with 3,583 housing units were built to relocate 11,703 people.

  Most of the fatalities during Typhoon Morakot were caused by the collapse of a massive mountain slope that buried Siaolin Village (小林村) in Kaohsiung. The village residents were mainly Tavalong. Almost all them — about 490 people — were missing and presumed dead.

  Afterward, the government set up a special commission to coordinate relief efforts, and the Post-Typhoon Morakot Reconstruction Special Act (莫拉克颱風災後重建特別條例) was passed swiftly, Poiconu said.

  Then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and his administration called for entire mountain villages affected by Morakot to be relocated to lower altitudes, as they were deemed unsafe and at risk of future natural disasters.

  Yeh said in the report that residents believed the program was rushed.

  Their new villages were built in three to six months, and the houses now have leaks, with clogged drainage, broken roofs and cracked walls, while some have eroded foundations, Yeh said.

  A major issue for the affected indigenous communities is that they only have the legal right to live in and use the housing units, meaning they have no land rights, Poicuno said, adding that they are cut off from their original homes, and are unable to continue their traditional livelihoods and cultural activities.

  Control Yuan members recommended that the resettlement policy be changed to include the participation of the affected indigenous people throughout the process, including in the selection of a new site, and the assessment of the quality and safety of the new housing.

  The policy must ensure that their traditional way of life is maintained, their culture and right to return to their traditional land is preserved, and their indigenous rights are better protected, the report said.

  It was also recommended that oversight mechanisms be set up to monitor on contractors building the housing, and to solve disputes over who should pay for the repair and maintenance of housing.
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