Återuppbyggnaden efter tyfonen i Taiwan fortgår

PRESS RELEASE

Government Information Office

Republic of China (Taiwan)

November 9, 2009

Three months after Morakot, government support firm on all fronts

This week marks the three-month anniversary of Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan. In the effort to re-establish normalcy in the lives of affected people as quickly possible and to provide consolation for their sufferings, the government has taken aggressive measures to speed reconstruction of the homeland, restore communities to their former vitality, and prevent or lower the chances of similar disasters in the future. And to guide reconstruction work in the proper direction, the Executive Yuan announced the formation of the Morakot Post-disaster Reconstruction Commission on August 19 and convened various task forces to address the issues of land conservation, basic infrastructure, homeland reconstruction and industrial revitalization.

Morakot triggered massive flooding and landslides and inflicted severe damage in central and southern Taiwan, jeopardizing the safety of many people and their properties. The top priority in this situation was to resettle victims, and in this area, the government has already distributed all consolation funds to the families of the dead, missing or severely injured, as well as 99.26 percent of funds for flood relief. In the area of homeland reconstruction, the Construction and Planning Agency (CPA) passed special measures for resettling victims whose homes have been destroyed, providing cash subsidies and practical resettlement assistance. To date, 90.2 percent of these cash subsidies have been disbursed to those in need.

Regarding the question of permanent homes for displaced residents, the CPA has already evaluated 85 sites for possible relocation, and preliminarily recommended 42 of these sites to local governments as they ascertain the preferences of the displaced. Currently, consultants have been commissioned to draw up development plans for three sites, including Kaohsiung County's Yuemei Farm Community and Wulipu and Pingtung County's Majia Farm area. Premier Wu Den-yih, meanwhile, has urged that sites already designated for permanent housing should by all means be completed and ready for occupancy before the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays. For the indigenous communities in central and southern Taiwan that suffered the brunt of the flooding, a resettlement plan drawn up by the Council of Indigenous Peoples calls for allocation of NT$2.1 billion (about US$65 million) to complete the relocation of 15 communities and the construction of 300 new homes.

With respect to infrastructure projects, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) is carrying out a plan worth NT$29.26 billion (about US$910 million) for emergency repair and reconstruction of roads and bridges. The designing of new bridges is being expedited, with some 50 old ones to be replaced by next year. Efforts will be made to complete repairs to all flood-damaged bridges within two years.

In the area of national land conservation, the Executive Yuan passed a plan on October 9 that designated land conservation as a priority in reconstruction and divided the work into regional, sectoral and local levels. With emphasis on land restoration and conservation, climate change mitigation as well as disaster risk management, the plan's ultimate goal is to rebuild safer communities to live in. In drawing up the plan, the government also considered the needs of communities by creating job opportunities for locals, preserving indigenous culture and lifestyles in the relocation process, and coordinating reconstruction projects with the private sector.

To revitalize agricultural industries, the Council of Agriculture (COA) is offering monetary aid and preferential loans under the terms of the Regulations on Natural Disaster Aid for Agriculture. Special measures are also in place to bring agribusinesses back on track through assistance in land plowing and crop cultivation. The latest statistics show that 50 percent of monetary aid for forestry businesses has already been issued, as well as 90 percent of the aid allocated for agriculture, fishery and animal husbandry. The COA also announced a moratorium on repayment of existing loans for farmers who suffered from previous natural disasters, while those borrowing money for the first time due to Morakot will qualify for favorable terms and other financial assistance.

Rebuilding the tourism industry is also a priority as many scenic spots in central, southern and eastern Taiwan were damaged in the typhoon. So far, aside from repairing facilities at less affected tourist areas and helping businesses obtain short-term preferential financing, the MOTC has launched a worldwide campaign explaining that major tourism spots in Taiwan remain intact after the storm.

For commercial industries, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has formed an ad hoc team to help affected businesses recover and obtain tax exemption treatment. The Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Fund is also offering special loans to small and medium-sized enterprises.

To bolster the domestic job market and help unemployed disaster victims, the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) has designed a series of programs for hard-hit areas: a temporary employment program provided 13,940 short-term opportunities, a vocational program has so far trained 63 people, and a career exploration camp trained 88 participants to date. Additionally, the CLA organized seven job fairs as a one-stop shop for job-seekers and entrepreneurs, offering everything from on-site recruitment to job training resources, business start-up help and career counseling services.

As Typhoon Morakot wrought such great devastation to Taiwan, the people who suffered from this catastrophe are looking to the government to take strong action to minimize loss of life and property in the event of future natural disasters. For this purpose, the MOEA convened a national flood control conference on October 11 to discuss the broad work of flood prevention and water control. Moving beyond the old methods of relying on dams to control water flow, the conference focused on new approaches that manage catchment areas directly in mountains, forests, soil, rivers and oceans. Additionally, the government will expand next year's flood control budget to a total of nearly NT$80 billion (approximately US$2.5 billion). Regarding the Zengwen and Gaoping rivers that sustained heavy damage this time, the Water Resources Agency will propose reconstruction and flood control projects, to be implemented after approval by the Executive Yuan.

To improve the disaster prevention and rescue system, the Ministry of the Interior is planning to upgrade the National Fire Agency into a disaster prevention and rescue agency. Plans are also underway to establish a permanent disaster mitigation office at the Executive Yuan, which will also reduce the overlap of responsibilities that exist in the current system.