THE AFTERMATH: US helicopters to join rescue effort
AWAITING AID: A day after receiving 6,800kg of plastic sheeting, the chief of the Central Emergency Operations Center said that the center wasn’t sure what to do with it

STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA
Tuesday, Aug 18, 2009, Page 1
　

A US CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter landed at Tainan Air Base at 2:25pm yesterday to join relief and reconstruction efforts in areas devastated by flooding and landslides caused by Typhoon Morakot.

The US military’s largest and heaviest chopper, capable of transporting a 16-tonne payload, is expected to begin helping with relief efforts today in mountainous areas that were cut off from the rest of the nation during the storm.

Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國), chief of the Central Emergency Operations Center (CEOC), said the helicopter was the first of four US military aircraft transported by the USS Denver — an amphibious transport dock ship — to waters near Taiwan.

From there, the other three choppers will also fly to Tainan Air Base to join Taiwanese operations.

The three other US military helicopters are another CH-53E and two SH-60s, or “Seahawks,” said Christopher Kavanagh, press officer of the American Institute in Taiwan.
　

“The four helicopters will return to the USS Denver at night after their daily work on the island,” Kavanagh said.

Meanwhile, another US military C-130 transport plane landed at Tainan Air Force Base around noon yesterday with a cargo of about a half tonne of calcium hypochlorite tablets for water sanitization, said Hung Wen-cheng (洪文正), a spokesman for the air force base.

The tablets will be transferred to the Centers for Disease Control, Hung said.

A C-130 also arrived at Tainan Air Base on Sunday, delivering 120 rolls — or about 6,800kg — of plastic sheeting for building temporary shelters during the reconstruction process.

Deputy Chief of the General Staff Wu Ta-peng (吳達澎) confirmed yesterday that the Ministry of National Defense (MND) recalled the plastic sheeting when the material was being shipped to a military unit in Cishan Township (旗山) on Sunday night.

Wu said the sheeting was brought back to the MND’s Tainan base because the CEOC believed it was “improper” to store the material in Cishan Township, adding that the MND and the CEOC should be better coordinated in handling foreign aid.

Mao said the US donated the sheeting without the government requesting the material. He said the CEOC had yet to decide which government agency should be in charge of the sheeting, adding that the government had very limited experience using it.

Beijing also offered large helicopters used during last year’s earthquake in China, but Taiwan declined the offer because of national security concerns, the Chinese-language United Daily News reported, citing unnamed defense officials.

CNN poll shows 80 percent want president to resign
　

By Ko Shu-ling
STAFF REPORTER
Tuesday, Aug 18, 2009, Page 1

More than 80 percent of respondents to an online CNN poll said that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) should resign over the administration’s delays in assisting victims of Typhoon Morakot.

Ma, who ruled out resignation during an interview with CNN on Sunday, said that his government did its best to deal with the aftermath of Morakot. Although he said during the interview that he would take full responsibility for the blunders and mistakes made during rescue efforts, he defined “taking all responsibility” as finding out what was wrong with the rescue system, correcting the problems and disciplining officials in charge.

In CNN’s Quickvote yesterday, 82 percent of voters said yes to the question: “Should Taiwan’s leader stand down over delays in aiding typhoon victims?”

Only 18 percent voted no.

Desperate for damage control after extensive media coverage of his administration’s alleged poor performance, Ma will hold two press conferences today with the local press corps and foreign correspondents.

His administration has come under fire since the typhoon began lashing Taiwan on Aug. 7, dropping more than a year’s rainfall in three days and triggering the most serious flooding and mudslides the nation has seen in 50 years.

Ma called a national security meeting on Friday and activated the national security mechanism, but declined to take charge of the rescue operation, saying the onus lay with the executive branch.

Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said yesterday that Ma would speak briefly on the government’s relief efforts before opening the floor to questions at today’s press conferences.

When asked whether Ma would apologize again today, Wang said it was possible.

Bowing to public anger, Ma apologized on Saturday for the slow pace of rescue efforts, but he blamed the weather and road conditions for hampering rescue efforts. He also said on Sunday that he would shoulder all responsibility for the shortcomings in his government’s response to the disaster, but pledged to punish officials responsible.

Amid calls for a Cabinet reshuffle, Wang yesterday said that “somebody will be held responsible,” but it would have to wait until the investigation concludes.

Wang said because the government’s first priority was disaster relief, there was no timetable for the investigation and disciplinary measures.

Regarding the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ rejection of foreign aid, Wang said the Presidential Office, National Security Council and Executive Yuan did not know about the ministry’s memo before it was sent out to embassies and representative offices as a “routine affair.”

“It is a question of judgment,” Wang said.

Wang also said on Saturday that the nation would not file a request to join the UN this year as the deadline for filing such a request was Aug. 15. Wang, however, said that the administration’s determination to “return” to the UN remained unchanged, but that it would adopt a more “flexible” approach.

“The Republic of China is an independent sovereignty. We are a peace-loving nation and a founding member of the UN,” he said. “We lost the UN seat in 1971, but we have been making efforts to return to the body and that resolve has never changed.”

Victims blame reservoir project
　

SUSPICIONS: Survivors in hard-hit regions said that since construction began on the Tsengwen reservoir diversion project, nearby townships had suffered major flooding
　

By Meggie Lu, Flora Wang and Jenny W. hsu
STAFF REPORTERS
Tuesday, Aug 18, 2009, Page 1
　

As Typhoon Morakot disaster rescue and cleanup work rolled into its 10th day yesterday, survivors of the hardest hit regions — Kaohsiung County’s Jiaxian (甲仙), Liukuei (六龜), Taoyuan (桃源) and Namasiya (那瑪夏) townships — continued to voice strong suspicion that the nearby Tsengwen Reservoir trans-basin diversion project was responsible for the destruction of their villages.

“Though the government said that this project did not cause Xiaolin Village (小林) to be completely wiped out, we find it hard to believe,” Xiaolin Village Self-help Association spokeswoman Hsu Wan-su (徐婉愫) said.

Since construction began two years ago, the townships have suffered several major floods, Hsu said.

“The Morakot flood took 500 lives in our village … Such floods never occurred in the past century, ever since our ancestors arrived, so our suspicions are completely logical,” Hsu said.

In response, Water Resources Agency Director-General Chen Shen-hsien (陳伸賢) said that the disaster “had nothing to do with the project.”
　

A tearful Chen told reporters that the dynamite used in the Tsengwen project cut into mountain surfaces to a much shallower extent than most tunnel projects, and that it could not have caused mudslides.

“Satellite images show that about 50 hectares of the mountain collapsed onto Xiaolin Village, bringing with it 3 million to 4 million cubic meters of mud. The Tsengwen diversion project couldn’t have caused something so powerful,” he said.

“To point the finger at us for a disaster that took several hundred lives is a burden heavier than we can bear,” Chen said.

However, Tainan County Commissioner Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智) yesterday demanded that the Cabinet order an immediate halt to the construction.

“The Morakot disaster claimed 28 lives in Tainan County, most of which have to do with Tsengwen Reservoir flooding,” Su said.

“[Besides Tainan County], the most affected areas — Jiaxian, Liukuei, Taoyuan and Namasiya townships — are all located on the five faults and three fracture belts that the diversion project passes … We will represent victims’ families to demand compensation from the [central] government,” Su said.

Mourners continued to battle with the trauma yesterday and brace themselves for the long road of reconstruction ahead.

“Words cannot express my shock, pain and sorrow over having two-thirds of my students taken away by one storm,” Xiaolin Elementary School principal Wang Chen-shu (王振書) said.

As of yesterday, 57 out of 81 Xiaolin Elementary School students were either dead or missing.

Nearby at Jiaxian Junior High School, 19 students out of the 30 or so children living in mountainous areas have not been found, the junior high school’s principal Chen Bi-yuan (陳碧媛) said.

“Some children have not spoken for days, and instead have just cried in silence,” Chen said.

Meanwhile, Taoyuan Township chief Hsieh Chui-yao (謝垂耀) said that help was still urgently needed for people in his township.

“We are without electricity and running water. The only communication we have with the outside world is a temporary base station that is powered by a small generator, but the electricity will run out in another two days,” Hsieh said.

As of press time, Taoyuan Township’s Meishan Village (梅山) chief Wu Jin-song (吳進松) remained on the mountain with about 200 of his villagers.

His daughter and wife, who were airlifted to the Cishan Junior High School shelter, said her village was in need of money to pay for hospital fees, rice and cooking oil.

Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興) told reporters that the government had found a 40-hectare relocation site for Xiaolin survivors in Wulipo (五里埔), near Xiaolin’s former location.

The county said it had stopped accepting donations of goods except for brooms, dustbins, shovels, plastic pipes, undergarments, wash basins, walking canes, power lines, wireless base stations and construction helmets. Donors can call (07) 746-6900 ext. 200 for details.

Rescue efforts continued, as soldiers searched typhoon-devastated areas for survivors and bodies, and more than 1,600 people waited to be airlifted to safety.

Rescue work had eased because military search crews had canvassed the whole disaster area and many survivors chose not to leave the mountains, said Hu Jui-chou (胡瑞舟), an army major general.

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Lin Ting (林頂) said that so far there have been no reports of epidemics in areas devastated by the flooding.

Most of the sick in the affected areas suffered from gastrointestinal diseases, infections of the upper respiratory tract or skin problems because of poor hygiene, he said.

There have been no reports from affected areas of group infections of swine flu or other communicable diseases, he said.

However, Lin said there was an increase in the number of patients seeking treatment for chronic diseases at the provisional medical stations set up for typhoon victims.

Lin said there were no shortages of drug supplies at the medical stations because most of them were operated by regional medical centers.

Lin’s assurances, however, were rebutted by Lu Chung-chien, a physician at the National Taiwan University Hospital emergency treatment division.

Lu, stationed in Tawu Township (大武) in Taitung County, where he was providing free treatment to flood victims under the auspices of the Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corps, said that many chronic disease sufferers fled their homes without taking their medicine.

Some of them, suffering in the shelters from lack of sleep and nutrition, have been unable to get proper treatment at medical stations because they lack the drugs they require.

She said that despite a great quantity of donations of medical supplies from local drug manufacturers and foreign countries, the supplies were either stockpiled in warehouses because there were no pharmacists available who could sort them out, or shipped to places where they were not needed.

Wu expressed concern over wastage because of the short shelf life of many of the drugs.

Also yesterday, the Ministry of the Interior finalized plans to help victims of Morakot get back on their feet.

Yeh Shih-wen (葉世文), director-general of the Construction and Planning Agency under the ministry, told a press conference at the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC) that the victims would be given three options to resettle.

They could choose to rent housing, buy a new house or accept accommodation provided by the government, Yeh said.

Every household that chooses to rent will be granted a monthly stipend ranging between NT$6,000 and NT$10,000 for a maximum of two years, depending on the size of the household, Yeh said.

Each of the households will also receive a monthly subsidy of between NT$3,000 and NT$15,000 depending on the size of the household to cover their basic living expenses, Yeh said, adding that this stipend would be in effect for a maximum of six months.

Those who choose to buy housing will still enjoy the living expense subsidy and a mortgage of NT$3.5 million (US$106,000) with the interest rate set at 0.533 percent, Yeh said.

However, typhoon victims who choose to accept accommodations offered by the government, including military dormitories and fabricated homes, will not receive the rent or living expense subsidies, he said.

Yeh said China had offered 1,000 prefabricated homes, with 100 set to arrive today at Kaohsiung Port from Shenzhen, Yeh said, adding that the homes would be shipped to disaster-hit areas in Taitung first.

CEOC Commander Mao Chih-kuo (毛治國) said the government would test the homes for any excessive traces of formaldehyde to ensure the health of typhoon victims.

As of 6pm, CEOC statistics confirmed that the disaster caused 126 deaths, while 60 were missing, 45 were injured and 24,775 were evacuated, with 4,920 people now living in 49 shelters.

Also yesterday, the ­Directorate-General of Highways (DGH) said that Maolin Township (茂林) in Pingtung County was no longer cut off because it had managed to repair the section of road near Dajin (大津) on Highway 27.

To facilitate the reconstruction of Highway 18, the only road leading to Alishan, the DGH said it was planning to remove debris on county route 159 first so that construction vehicles could move on to some of the remote villages in Alishan.

“The damage is worse than we thought,” DGH general secretary Mile Chen (陳茂南) said.

Despite severe damage, Chen said “it is too early to say” whether Highway 18 would disappear like the Central Link Highway (中橫公路), which was completely destroyed by the 921 Earthquake in 1999.

Chen said yesterday that the most urgent task now was to make highways accessible, which is different from restoring highways.

“To restore highways means to restore their normal function, which is what we are going to do in the next phase,” Chen said.

Large tour buses to Alishan may also have to wait because an accessible highway does not mean that it is able to accommodate them, Chen said.

Chen also said the DGH had requested that King Bus (國光客運) provide bus services on the South Link Highway (南迴公路) starting on Saturday. The company said it had scheduled 60 buses that would run two-way service on Highway 9.

Meanwhile, assistance and messages of condolences from the international community continued to pour into the country yesterday.

A team of five disaster management experts sent from the EU arrived last night to survey the damage in southern Taiwan, while help from the EU is expected to arrive on Thursday.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman James Chang (章計平) said the team would mainly assess the ongoing relief work and the supply coordination efforts before finalizing details of its operation.

The Canadian government yesterday announced it would donate C$50,000 (US$45,000) to the Taiwan Red Cross Society as well as 200,000 water purification tablets to help with relief efforts.

Local and Canada-based staff at the Canadian Trade Office in Taiwan have also raised NT$67,300 to donate to the same organization.

Taiwan’s representative office in Seoul accepted a US$120,000 cash donation from the South Korean government to the Red Cross.

A nearly 1-tonne shipment of blankets, sleeping bags and tents donated by German humanitarian group Luftfahrt ohne Grenzen will also arrive today.

MOFA’s latest tally shows that 64 countries and many international non-governmental organizations have expressed condolences and offered to help with money, goods and humanitarian assistance. Cash donations have reached NT$68 million.

In related news, the Internet Portal Yahoo! Kimo yesterday turned its home page black-and-white in remembrance of those who died in the disaster.

The Dalai Lama sent a letter to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Wednesday expressing his concern over the devastation caused by Morakot, the Tibetan spiritual leader’s office in Dharamsala said yesterday.
　

Web users turn the screw on Ma over poor reaction
　

DIGITAL DISCONTENT: From CNN polls calling on Ma to step down to a campaign to depose the president and a fable about Emperor Ma, the Internet heat is on
　

By Meggie Lu
STAFF REPORTER
Tuesday, Aug 18, 2009, Page 3

The government’s delayed reaction in launching disaster relief operations after Typhoon Morakot devastated southern Taiwan has caused widespread public rage and dissatisfaction, both in Taiwan and abroad.

By yesterday at noon, about 80 percent of Web users had voted “yes” to a CNN Internationlal online public poll question: “Should Taiwan’s leader stand down over delays in aiding typhoon victims?”

Meanwhile, a Web petition to initiate a “Let’s set a date at 919 [Sept. 19] to depose Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).”

The last character in the president’s name means nine in Chinese.

A Plurker nicknamed Xdite also called on fellow users of the Internet social platform to attend the upcoming National Youth Policy Forum, which is scheduled for Aug. 30.

Ma, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) as well as other Cabinet ministers are expected to make appearances.

Xdite called on other Plurkers to attend the forum, which will be open to 300 people aged 18 to 35, so that they can demand that Ma step down for mishandling the typhoon disaster relief operations.

Soon after Xdite had posted the message on his board, another Plurker replied: “I am worried that if I were to attend, I would be too inclined to throw a shoe at Ma at the event.”

On another online message board, a Web user posted a satire titled “Documentation on Emperor Ma, Chapter One.”

One passage of the fictious story reads: “Though many countries wished to come to his aid, Emperor Ma refused, saying, ‘though our country is poor, it can protect itself.’”

“The people were enraged, and pleaded for foreign aid in tears. After two days, the Emperor changed his words and said: ‘Where did the rumor come from? I never refused any aid,’” it read.

Addressing the Web protests, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) said that Ma should have stepped down long ago.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said that although she had reservations about the accuracy of the poll held by CNN yesterday, its result nevertheless served as a warning sign.

Ma criticized at home and abroad

Tuesday, Aug 18, 2009, Page 8

The administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is facing its first real crisis since taking office in May last year. Criticism of its mishandling of the disaster created by Typhoon Morakot is coming from every quarter, both from the pan-green camp and traditionally blue villages hit by the catastrophe. The international media, which made Ma its darling, is joining the fray, with CNN International holding a public vote on the question: “Should Taiwan’s leader stand down over delays in aiding typhoon victims?”

In a further sign of media bungling, the Government Information Office (GIO) retracted a request that the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents’ Club instruct correspondents who signed up for a press conference with Ma today to submit their questions to the GIO prior to the media event — which the club adamantly refuses to do.

Amid all the domestic finger-pointing and rising dissatisfaction, another political storm that threatens to buffet Ma is silently brewing across the Taiwan Strait. For the majority of Taiwanese who favor independence and the many who favor the “status quo” over annexation by China, this development might come as a surprise — but as they say, you stand where you sit.

Incredible as it may sound, a growing number of Chinese academics are arguing that Ma is shifting on the “one China” policy he is alleged to be adhering to.

In an op-ed published in the Hong Kong-based Asia Times Online last Tuesday, Jian Junbo (簡軍波), an assistant professor at Fudan University in Shanghai and visiting scholar at Aalborg University in Denmark, wrote that Ma was an “opportunist” who “lack[s] foresight and strategy, with hesitation and self-contradiction manifest in his Mainland policy.”

Jian said that Ma and his aides “have been saying that Beijing should recognize the realities across the Taiwan Strait — that there is the People’s Republic of China [PRC] on the mainland and the [Republic of China] in Taiwan.”

Later, he writes that when we carefully examine his remarks on cross-strait relations, Ma sounds more like former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) — who pushed for state-to-state relations across the Taiwan Strait — than someone who adheres to the so-called “one China” principle. Jian concludes that if Ma is really interested in the public’s best interests, he must realize that world leaders cannot allow themselves to be swayed by public opinion. In other words, Ma should be dictatorial, just like the leadership in Beijing. The op-ed closes with a veiled threat, stating that if Ma makes the mistake of allowing the 23 million Taiwanese to decide their own fate, China’s 1.3 billion people also have a right to decide the future of the Taiwan Strait.

Such articles reflect a growing impatience in elite circles in China as Ma, however much power he wields over the executive and the legislative branches, maneuvers between his policy objectives and the friction that is inherent to a democratic system. His handling of the Morakot disaster will likely make it far more difficult for him to push his China policies, especially at a time when the public trust that allowed him to forge ahead with little opposition has evaporated. As such, Ma may be forced to tread more carefully — and slowly — on his cross-strait policies, which is certain to result in further accusations across the Taiwan Strait that he is wavering, an “opportunist” who cares more about his re-election than achieving unification.

Could Taiwan emulate N Korea?
　

By Fan Jen-fei 方仁惠
Tuesday, Aug 18, 2009, Page 8

During his visit to North Korea on Aug. 4, former US president Bill Clinton managed to secure the release of US journalists Laura Ling (凌志美) and Euna Lee, who were arrested for illegal entry into the country on Mar 17. This move turned over a new diplomatic leaf for the US and North Korea and brought hope for peace in Northeast Asia.

North Korea is notorious for marching to its own drummer and ignoring worldwide criticism of its nuclear tests. Japan is in a constant state of fear of North Korean aggression because many Japanese have been kidnapped and harassed by the reclusive state over the years. Although Japan has tried to seek assistance from China, its attempts have been futile. North Korea has fired ballistic missiles off its eastern coast several times, but Japan has been unable to do anything about it.

Since assuming office, the administration of US President Barack Obama has adopted soft diplomatic policies. Its efforts to extend goodwill and engage in dialogue with North Korea have produced a significant outcome. In addition, the appointment of Hillary Clinton as US secretary of state has favorably softened the US’ rigid diplomatic policies. Her husband, Bill Clinton, has been credited for his skillful diplomatic tactics in talks with the leaders of other countries.

Why would North Korea make a friendly gesture toward the US? This question can be answered from two perspectives. First, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who is said to have suffered a stroke last year, is trying to lay the groundwork for a better relationship with the US for his Western-educated third son, Kim Jong-un, who is expected to succeed him as North Korean leader. Besides, Kim Jong-il wanted to relax tensions between the two countries, which had been raised by North Korea’s nuclear tests.

Second, amid anti-terrorism and anti-nuclear sentiment in the international community, a rising China has had no choice but to criticize many of North Korea’s policies. Although it used to be a close ally of China, the reclusive state is now intent on befriending the US so as to gain advantage from both sides. North Korea lost nothing by releasing the two journalists, but it took a significant step in its diplomatic relations with other countries. China should be the most worried if North Korea becomes friends with the West. We will have to wait and see whether Beijing will offer more carrots than sticks in order to bring its North Korean counterpart back to the negotiation table.

Since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took power, he has made peace with China his priority and repeatedly made concessions on cross-strait matters. Last December, Ma refused to allow the Dalai Lama to visit Taiwan because he said the timing was not appropriate. In his speech to mark the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre this year, Ma made no reference to the demands for re-evaluating the bloody crackdown, but instead affirmed the progress China had made on human rights over the last 10 years. Moreover, both the US and Japan, which have a major influence on cross-strait peace and which have economic interests in the Taiwan Strait, have started to show an indifferent attitude toward Taiwan, a move that has prompted pro-Taiwan activists to worry that the government’s excessive reliance on China will compromise Taiwan’s sovereignty. The government should be well aware that Taiwan has long been protected by the US’ Taiwan Relations Act.

This is the bottom line that prevents China from invading Taiwan. Moreover, the inclusion of “the situation in areas surrounding Japan” in the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the US and Japan has strengthened the two countries’ protection of cross-strait security.

The Ma government should model its dealings with China on North Korea. Although wavering between the US and China, the North Korean government has been able to gain maximum benefits without giving up its sovereignty. Both South and North Korea are calling for unification, but neither would give away their status as independent states.

Taiwan’s future should not be dependent on Chinese goodwill. The government must not only establish an equal relationship with the US, Japan and China, but also carry out comprehensive economic and trade cooperation and establish substantial exchanges with other countries. Only through multilateral cooperation can Taiwan maintain its sovereignty and long-term peace and not become subject to the “one China” framework.

Fan Jen-fei is a former national policy advisor.

　

Ma revives bureaucratic inefficiency
　

By Liu Shih-chung 劉世忠
Tuesday, Aug 18, 2009, Page 8

Despite various misjudgments by President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, one of the elements that contributed to the poor handling of the catastrophic flooding in southern Taiwan following Typhoon Morakot was a huge lack of central-local, horizontal and inter-agency coordination. That inefficiency leads to slow and inadequate responses to natural disasters like this.

While criticism has focused on inappropriate and sometimes arrogant comments made by Ma and Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) when they were questioned over the government’s incompetent reaction to the flood, Taiwan’s bureaucratic culture, little changed by its transition to the former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government and back to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), should also shoulder political responsibility for the tragedy.

Buck-passing is a common phenomenon in this bureaucracy. As the president, Ma is no exception, especially given his long career in politics.

When the crisis first became obvious, Ma blamed the Central Weather Bureau for failing to make accurate predictions of the amount of rainfall. When interviewed by foreign press as to how such a calamity could occur, Ma blamed the people living in the disaster areas for not evacuating on time. Facing growing pressure and calls to declare a state of emergency so that the commander-in-chief could order the military to take over relief efforts, Ma insisted that the current natural disaster prevention system — which gave the Cabinet ultimate authority over the crisis — was good enough.

If the president is a conservative, inactive and overly cautious leader when it comes to decision-making, how can we expect the bureaucracy, including the National Security Council and the Cabinet, to come up with timely and aggressive policies to react to the crisis?

Therefore it is no surprise to see the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) accuse the Ministry of the Interior’s National Fire Agency of suggesting that foreign aid be rejected, while the latter denied that it had ever been consulted. In addition, the president and the premier denied that they knew of MOFA’s “individual” decision to turn down the offer of foreign assistance. This also explains why Minister of Defense Chen Chao-ming (陳肇敏) said that without a direct order from the top, the military could not engage in immediate rescue efforts, even though some of the military bases were close to the disaster area.

The bureaucracy knows what constitutes the top agenda for the president. Ma has spent most of his time in office dealing with cross-strait affairs and has hedged all of his bets on hasty economic integration with China. Diplomatically, Taiwan seeks a ceasefire with Beijing. Economically, the Ma administration considers the signing of an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) as the only solution to Taiwan’s fragile economy.

Because of this China-centric mentality and policy orientation, the military’s morale is down, while the Ma government simply overlooks Beijing’s continuous violations of human rights. Almost everything the government does now is for the sake of cross-strait relations, with the bureaucratic culture returning to the old days of having no incentives to change.

For more than 50 years of KMT rule, the bureaucracy in Taiwan developed a unique character of passivity. The hierarchical bureaucracy has not only produced a “red stamp” culture and unnecessary “paper traveling,” but also failure on the part of the government to react to public needs in a timely manner. Bureaucratic inefficiency was deeply rooted in the government when the DPP came to power in 2000.

Even though the DPP government made tremendous efforts to counteract bureaucratic resistance and streamline government organization, its lack of central governing experience constituted the main source of Cabinet inefficiency in the early years of the tenure of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).

But the bureaucracy can adapt. Under Chen’s second term, when most government officials had gained experience and were willing to listen to the rank and file, the bureaucracy was more efficient in implementing policy. Particularly when it came to natural disasters, the bureaucratic coordination of the former government outperformed the current KMT government. Because DPP leaders emphasized the achievement of goals and overall performance, the bureaucracy had no choice but to live up to it.

As power returned to the KMT, bureaucratic culture returned to its old ways. The bureaucracy’s weapons to stifle change are truly intimidating. The first line of defense is usually delay and obfuscation. Bureaucrats also tend to use crises to block initiatives for change. Most importantly, they can’t see the defects in their systems. They are isolated from the public and do not acknowledge people’s frustrations.

A public official must see the permanent bureaucracy that surrounds him as the enemy of change. Otherwise he or she will be hijacked by the big and complicated government machine. Officials must realize that their appointees are easily captured by the permanent bureaucracy and turned against change. So if the national leader displays no strong determination for change and aggressive leadership, it gives the bureaucracy leeway to do what it wants.

Nevertheless, as the voters become more politically aware, no leader or political party can take the public’s patience for granted. Ma’s case illustrates not only his inability to introduce bureaucratic change but also a blindness to public need.

Liu Shih-chung is visiting fellow of the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies at the Washington-based Brookings Institution.

Local civic virtues are manifested by disaster
　

By Tsai Jung-hsiang 蔡榮祥
Tuesday, Aug 18, 2009, Page 8

Natural disasters are full of uncertainty, especially their effects on people’s lives and property. Regardless of how badly an area has been affected, time is the key factor in disaster rescue operations. Efficiency is needed to get donated goods from the public quickly into the hands of those affected by natural disasters. Timing is crucial in support and rescue operations because emergency goods are extremely important to the physical and mental health of disaster victims.

Typhoon Morakot seriously affected Tainan County, with townships such as Hsuehchia (學甲), Beimen (北門) and Matou (麻豆) submerged in water. And because the county covers a large area, many residents in local villages live in remote places, making it even tougher for rescue and support workers.

Tainan County Government’s Social Affairs Bureau handled the collection and dispensing of emergency aid. Apart from some goods that donors could send personally to disaster victims in nearby areas, the rest was sent to Tainan County Government’s Chungcheng Hall, where it was then dispatched to disaster areas according to their needs via a temporary command center established by the bureau. When truck after truck of goods donated by the public and businesses arrived at the hall, a large group of volunteers lined up and unloaded hundreds of boxes of instant noodles, non-perishable foodstuff, bread, mineral water and hot foods and arranged the goods into groups. The goods were then organized and sent to the victims of the flood according to the needs of each town and village.

There was one elderly woman who had brought along her granddaughter and told her to hand the donations to the volunteers. The volunteers, approximately 200, came from all over the place. There was one group of 30 university students from Kaohsiung who launched an online call only on Aug. 11 to gather at 7am and drive on their scooters for one hour to reach the hall to do volunteer work.

The students busied themselves unloading goods one minute and dispatching goods the next. They did this to ease the pain of the flood victims.

The student volunteers not only represented diligence by the greater society, but also a link to flood victims who were in need of assistance. It was a show of love and care for others. Even though Kaohsiung was also heavily affected by Morakot, the Kaohsiung City Government sent 15 busses of emergency goods to Tainan County. Many members of the public and businesses arrived at the hall to make donations, providing resources and funds for rescue and relief operations.

Disaster rescue must be a concerted effort between the government and the public. This can help maximize the efficiency of rescue efforts. Many flood victims are still trapped. Although the media have already fulfilled its social responsibility by reporting on the latest developments, there are still many areas in Tainan County that were badly hit that have not received any media coverage, as they were so severely flooded that they could not be reached by reporters.

Guaranteeing equal attention for each disaster victim and choosing which assistance is needed is a real test for the government officials and civic organizations on the front line. The help of volunteers allowed society to show compassion where it was needed most. That force and spirit is what moved me, an academic that has long been sitting in my ivory tower, to roll up my sleeves and help the victims. While I do not know the name of every person who worked beside me, I will never forget that long, interlinked line of hardworking volunteers.

Tsai Jung-hsiang is an assistant professor of political science at National Chung Cheng University.