DISASTER TOUR:The president said reconstruction plans for the typhoon-hit island should strike a balance between tradition and modernization for its development
By Mo Yan-chih and Chris Wang / Staff reporters
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday promised to speed up the recovery work in Lanyu (蘭嶼) as he toured the island in the wake of Typhoon Tembin, adding that the government would loosen restrictions to provide better compensation to disaster victims.
Accompanied by officials from the ministries of transportation and economic affairs and other agencies, Ma said the government had sent a task force to assist with reconstruction and recovery plans on Lanyu.
Ma suggested the reconstruction plans should strike a balance between tradition and modernization, saying that the island can “wear a business suit and traditional T-shaped pants.”
“For its long-term development, Lanyu cannot abandon its past, nor can it refuse to embrace the future … The reconstruction plan should strike a balance between tradition and modernization, between safety and natural scenes,” he said.
Lanyu, also known as Orchid Island, was seriously hit by strong winds and torrential rains brought by Typhoon Tembin, wrecking buildings and roads, and leaving the outlying island more isolated.
One woman complained about the government’s slow response to the island’s situation, urging the president to take better care of the people living in outlying islands.
“The typhoon destroyed our homes and the roads are all wrecked. We’ve been waiting for help for days. You should’ve come here earlier,” she said.
Ma said the central government would work with the Taitung County Government to help rebuild the roads and houses.
The government will also loosen the restrictions for disaster compensations, so that more residents on the island can receive compensation.
Minister of the Interior Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源) said the infrastructure in the public sector would be operating normally within a week, but it may take longer for the private sector to resume normal operations.
The Atomic Energy Council said the facility that stores the nation’s low-radioactive nuclear waste remained intact after the storm.
According to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, air transportation, water supplies and other utilities will be restored to normal by today or tomorrow.
Back in Taipei, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Pan Men-an (潘孟安) said Ma and his administration had ignored the flooding in the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) after Tembin devastated the southern Pingtung County town a week ago.
“The Executive Yuan has done nothing on disaster relief since the peninsula sat half submerged in flood water on Friday,” said Pan, who represents Pingtung County in the legislature.
Hit by the most rainfall recorded in a 24-hour-period in the past century, the peninsula has suffered from flooding, damaged roads and lost agricultural produce as well as power and water outages, he said.
“The Executive Yuan only sent Deputy Minister of the Interior Chien Tai-lang (簡太郎) to inspect the area in the past week without announcing any measures and Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) did not bother to visit the peninsula although he visited Kaohsiung on Tuesday,” Pan said.
More than 3,000 households in Hengchun Township (恆春), 500 in Manjhou Township (滿州) and 300 in Checheng Township (車城) qualify for flood subsidies, Pan said, urging the government to announce what it would do for local farmers who suffered agricultural losses, its rebuilding plans and subsidies for flooded households as soon as possible.