Taiwan To Review Typhoon Response

在外界纷纷批评政府应对“莫拉克”台风的表现之际，台湾总统马英九为自己的领导能力进行了辩护，不过他表示政府将彻查并追究失职官员的责任。Associated Press马英九周二在记者会上为政府抗灾不力进行道歉周二在分别用中英文举行的两场新闻发布会上，马英九承认台风将对台湾当季经济表现造成影响。在8月8日那个周末，台风在台湾南部地区造成两米多的降水，很多山村居民遇难。马英九说，此次灾害中有434人遇难或失踪。马英九表示，我们将对政府的表现进行评估，确保找到疏失的地方。他还说，然后我们将开始调查和惩治过程。评估将于9月初完成。马英九说此话之际正值首位政府高层官员因台风应对问题而下台。外交部次长夏立言辞职，原因是外界批评外交部最初拒绝外国援助。马英九所在的国民党和反对党政治家皆敦促马英九在灾后改组内阁。在面向当地媒体的中文新闻发布会上，马英九和其他4名高层官员在镜头前鞠躬10秒钟表示道歉。不过，马英九说这次救灾，一开始因为受到天候限制，无法救出更多人，导致民众认为救灾缓慢；他为自己的领导能力和政府的救援工作进行了辩护。马英九说，大雨阻碍了救援人员进入山区，我们确实尽了全力。马英九说，434名遇难或失踪人员中，有248位小林村附近的村民。小林村大部分被泥石流所掩埋。截至周二，消防署列出了128名证实的遇难者，307人失踪。马英九和消防署公布的人数上有一人之差，对此没有解释。马英九说，台湾将斥资3亿美元购买救援直升机和相关设备，台军还将采用新的战略战术以应对自然灾害。这笔资金原本计划用于从美国购买15架黑鹰直升机，以补充台湾针对长期对手大陆的防御体系。在马英九的领导下，两岸关系明显改善。马英九说，现在我们的敌人不一定是台湾海峡对岸的人，而是大自然。Ting-i Tsai相关阅读图片：已成历史的台湾小林村 2009-08-18国际救灾物资运达台湾 2009-08-17台湾上百人死于台风 马英九遭批 2009-08-13东亚地区接连遭受强台风袭击 2009-08-11台风莫拉克袭击华东 近百万人疏散 2009-08-10


Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou defended his leadership amid criticism of the government's response to Typhoon Morakot, but said his administration will investigate and hold accountable any officials who failed to perform.In two press conferences Tuesday -- one held in English, one in Chinese -- Mr. Ma acknowledged the typhoon will hurt the island's economic performance in the current quarter. The storm dumped more than two meters of rain in southern Taiwan over the weekend of Aug. 8, killing many residents of mountain villages. Mr. Ma said 434 people are dead or missing as a result of the disaster.Mr. Ma said 'we will have a review of the performance of the government to make sure to identify the mistakes.' He added that 'then we will start the investigation and punishment process.' The review will be completed by early September.Mr. Ma's comments came as the first senior official in the government stepped down over the handling of the typhoon. Vice Foreign Minister Andrew Hsia resigned over criticism of the ministry's initial rejection of foreign aid offers. Politicians from Mr. Ma's own party as well as from the opposition have urged Mr. Ma to reshuffle his cabinet in the aftermath of the disaster.At the Chinese press conference, aimed at local media, the president and four other senior officials bowed for 10 seconds in front of cameras to demonstrate contrition. Still, Mr. Ma blamed the weather for the government's handling of the aftermath, and defended his leadership and his administration's rescue efforts.'The heavy rain prevented the rescuers from having access to the mountain area,' Mr. Ma said. 'We did try our best.'Mr. Ma said the 434 total included 248 residents missing around the village of Shiao Lin, which was largely buried by a landslide. Taiwan's National Fire Agency as of Tuesday listed 128 people confirmed killed, with 307 still missing.There was no explanation for the one-person discrepancy in the number of people affected.Mr. Ma said Taiwan will spend $300 million to buy rescue helicopters and related equipment, while its military will adopt new strategies and tactics to respond to natural disasters. The money was originally allocated to buy 15 Black Hawk helicopters from the U.S., to be part of the island's defense against longtime rival China, with which relations have improved significantly under Mr. Ma.'Now our enemy is not necessarily people across the Taiwan Strait, but nature,' Mr. Ma said.Ting-i Tsai