PCDVD數位科技討論區 - 破天荒-第一次CNN作網調詢問~是否該罷免台灣領導人

救災不快到是~自清挺快的~哇勒:jolin:
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/a...hoon/index.html

Taiwan's leader takes blame for typhoon response

CISHAN, Taiwan (CNN) -- Taiwanese leader Ma Ying-jeou said Sunday he
accepts responsibility for the government's slow response after Typhoon
Morakot slammed into the island killing at more than 120 people and
unleashing floods, mudslides and misery.

Ma, who has faced heavy criticism from victims of the disaster, ruled out
resignation, insisting his government did its best in the face of difficulties,
however he pledged an investigation into any irregularities.

"Certainly, I will take full responsibility whatever the blame is because, after
all, I am the president of this country," Ma told CNN, saying heavy rains
grounded rescue helicopters in the first few days after the storm hit,
delaying relief.

"Once the weather was good -- that is the 14th of August --
we were able to evacuate 2,518 people. It's a record," he said.

Hundreds of people still await rescue in remote areas of Taiwan, where
torrential downpours, dense fog, rugged terrain and raging rivers have
hampered relief efforts. Washed-out roads and collapsed bridges
have made some rescue operations impossible

Touring disaster areas, Ma has been confronted by angry survivors, and
even provoked a scuffle when he opened a weekend baseball game as
protesters demanded he step down..

Ma has refused to quit, instead offering apologies and promises to do better.

"We will find out not only to correct the mistakes but (also) to punish the
people responsible," he said.

Rescue efforts were ongoing Sunday with military helicopters bringing
stranded villagers to their waiting relatives.

Others, waiting days in anguish for word on their loved ones,
lashed out in anger.

"Local officials don't care," one man said. "There are still people there and
they don't do anything."

On Saturday, weeping relatives of typhoon victims set up shrines near
devastated villages to calm the spirits of the dead and honor the belief
that their souls will return home after seven days.

Morakot hit the island last weekend, dropping 2.6 meters (102 inches) of
rain. Before it roared on to mainland China on Sunday, the storm killed at
least 123 people in Taiwan.

The death toll could climb to more than 300 after more villagers buried by
mudslides and floodwaters are found, Taiwan officials have said.

Southern and central Taiwan were hardest hit by the storm.

Mudslides inundated some places in the south, including the village of Shiao
Lin, where 160 homes were lost. Authorities believe hundreds of people could
be trapped under five stories of mud in the village.

International aid efforts were mobilizing on Sunday, however these were
complicated by diplomatic pitfalls in the face of China's territorial claims over
Taiwan, which it considers a renegade province awaiting reunification.

The U.S. military has begun a "modest" humanitarian aid mission to Taiwan
with the despatch of a Marine Corps C-130 cargo plane carrying plastic
tarpaulins for shelter, U.S. defense officials said.

Also Sunday, the USS Denver was en route to the Taiwanese coast with
additional humanitarian aid and water purification capabilities, the officials
said. The Navy ship is expected to arrive Monday, but officials could not say
when it will launch its heavy-lift helicopters to drop the aid.

Sources in Washington have said in providing aid to Taiwan, the United
States must be sensitive to its territorial relationship with China.

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