2009-08-17 07:25 PM
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The first of four heavy U.S. military helicopters arrived in Taiwan Monday to help with relief work in the wake of Typhoon Morakot.
The CH-53E with the words “Vanguard” and “Navy” painted on its side arrived at Tainan’s military airport around 2:30 p.m. after a flight from the USS Denver anchored off the coast of southwest Taiwan.
A second CH-53E Super Stallion and two SH-60 Seahawks also traveled on board the vessel, based at the Japanese harbor of Sasebo.
A group of U.S. experts discussed plans for the use of the helicopters and was scheduled to go on a reconnaissance mission before actually starting relief work early Tuesday, the government said. There was speculation about the role Taiwanese military personnel would play in the action because of the U.S. Navy’s reportedly limited knowledge of the terrain.
None of the helicopters will spend the night in Taiwan, but fly back to the Denver, said the American Institute in Taiwan, the U.S. representative office.
Cable stations reported Monday that bulldozers had started work on landing sites for the helicopters in the mountains. The U.S. aircraft will reportedly move 29 pieces of heavy machinery to seven villages.
On Sunday, a C-130 transport plane bringing 120 rolls of waterproof plastic sheeting became the first U.S. military aircraft to land in Taiwan since the two countries cut off diplomatic relations in 1979 when President Jimmy Carter recognized Beijing. However, anonymous U.S. officials quoted in media reports said the aftermath of the September 21, 1999 earthquake, which killed more than 2,400 people, also saw U.S. military aircraft arriving in the country with aid.
A second batch of U.S. aid arrived at Tainan’s military airport, again on a C-130 transport plane which immediately returned to its base in Okinawa after unloading half a ton of tablets sufficient for purifying 400,000 liters of water, reports said.
Cable stations reported that Taiwan’s military was unaware how to use the plastic sheets, which can serve for tents and for protecting goods against the rain.
Five experts from the European Union were scheduled to arrive in Taiwan Monday evening for meetings with government officials and visits to the disaster area to evaluate the needs on the ground. They would also supervise water purification and the assembly of prefabricated houses.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the delegation would stay until August 26.
Taiwan would not accept a Chinese offer of heavy helicopters rented from Russia because of the political connotations, reports said, but prefabricated houses were welcome.
Transportation Minister Mao Chi-kuo, who is in charge of typhoon relief efforts, said the homes would be tested after the opposition Democratic Progressive Party they might contain toxic materials. The first batch of 100 out of 1,000 prefab structures was loaded on to a ship in Shenzhen in the province of Guangdong Monday and was expected to arrive in Kaohsiung Tuesday.
The DPP said Chinese media reported last year that prefab homes distributed to the victims of the Sichuan earthquake contained excessive amounts of formaldehyde, a cancer-causing substance particularly harmful to pregnant women.
One ton of tents, sleeping bags and carpets was expected to arrive from Germany on Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, while Canada was also donating money and water purification tablets.
Foreign Minister Francisco Ou apologized to the public upon his return from a foreign trip Monday after it became known that his ministry drew up a letter refusing assistance from overseas. The document leaked out last week after President Ma Ying-jeou repeatedly said Taiwan would not turn down foreign aid.
The official death toll rose to 126 Monday, with 60 missing and 45 injured, but hundreds of people were believed to have been buried under landslides when the typhoon struck more than a week ago.
Apart from relief workers and weekend sightseers, the disaster areas have also drawn prominent visitors and celebrities. On Monday, Shao Hsiao-ling, the wife of Taichung Mayor Jason Hu, was received with accusations that she was only putting on a show for the cameras, while Chinese actress Bai Ling said she would cook for the homeless. Over the weekend, Chinese actor and martial arts star Jet Li also visited the disaster area, while numerous Taiwanese and other Asian entertainers took part in charity concerts.
As some disaster areas began reporting the reception of too much food, reports of fraud surfaced. Bags of rice carrying aid labels were found at a retirement home run by the wife of Pai Shui-sheng, the mayor of Santimen, a mountainous area in Pingtung County heavily affected by the typhoon. The mayor said he was innocent but Pingtung prosecutors were reportedly investigating the case.
The Council of Labor Affairs started a program Monday to give temporary employment to workers in the disaster areas. For a wage of NT$100 per hour or NT$800 per day, participants in the program would be asked to help with the cleaning up and receive their salary each day.
The original size and duration of the program was doubled to include 220,000 people and last one month, also doubling the cost to the government to NT$200 million.
More than 600 people were already active under the program Monday morning, the COA said.
Facing strong criticism over his government’s relief campaign, President Ma Ying-jeou decided to hold a domestic and an international news conference Tuesday.
In an interview broadcast on CNN Sunday, Ma said he would take responsibility for government actions and would punish officials found guilty of negligence. His comments, also widely shown on Taiwanese cable stations, gave rise to rumors of a Cabinet reshuffle.
A poll on the U.S. network’s web site saw between 75 percent and 82 percent of respondents giving a positive reply to the question of whether Ma should resign over his handling of typhoon relief.
Kuomintang lawmaker Lo Shu-lei said the president should apologize for using the wrong people on his team, and dismiss Cabinet members responsible for the government’s slow response.
The Control Yuan said Monday it would investigate the Cabinet’s handling of disaster relief.
