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TAIPEI, Taiwan – Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou defended his handling of Typhoon Morakot, saying Tuesday that he was still a strong leader despite the resignation of a senior official in the wake of criticism of the government response to the disaster.

The storm hit Taiwan 11 days ago, causing more than 400 deaths and property damage in excess of $2 billion. Friends and foes alike have blamed Ma for reacting too slowly in dealing with Morakot's aftermath, saying that his weak leadership — including an initial rejection of foreign aid — let down the people of the island.

But in comments Tuesday, Ma rejected those claims out of hand.

"I have exercised strong leadership throughout this process by ordering the armed forces to increase their participation in the disaster rescue operation," he said.

Ma said that he would likely accept the resignation of Vice Foreign Minister Andrew Hsia, who offered to step down late Monday to take responsibility for his agency's rejection of aid from other governments after Morakot hit.

The Foreign Ministry initially instructed Taiwanese missions abroad to reject offers of aid but reversed the decision five days after the storm hit.

Still the criticism is mounting. An editorial in Taiwan's normally pro-Ma China Times newspaper Tuesday said Morakot highlighted fundamental flaws in the president's role as a leader.

"(Ma) has been distant and arrogant, and he has only made (victims) more angry instead of comforting them," the newspaper said. "Second, he is not fast enough in his judgment ... he has not shown decisiveness required in a leader when facing a sudden disaster."

Some lawmakers from the ruling Nationalist Party echoed the China Times claim.

"Ma's problems are that he appointed unsuitable people to senior positions, and he failed to declare the disaster a national emergency, which prevented the military to be mobilized right away," said lawmaker Chiu Yi.

Colleague Lu Hsueh-chang said Ma's Cabinet appeared totally unprepared to cope with Morakot's fury.

"The Cabinet did not show any empathy and it was too careless," he said. "It was unforgivable that the Cabinet did not make any move during the first hours after the typhoon hit."

Meanwhile, a U.S. relief team backed by heavy-lift helicopters stepped up its efforts Tuesday to help local authorities get aid to the hundreds of people thought to be stranded in mountain villages.

Relying mainly on 70 Taiwanese choppers, local rescuers have already ferried more than 35,000 villagers to safety, many stranded in and around 44 hard-hit mountain communities, cut off from the outside world after roads and bridges were washed away by Morakot's fury.

Army spokesman Lt. Col. Tai Chan-te said more than 200 people were rescued Monday but could not give an estimate of how many still needed aid. Officials said late Sunday that at least 1,000 people were still stranded.

In addition to the damage it wrought on Taiwan, Morakot also caused 22 fatalities in the Philippines and eight in China.

That figure does not include the 22 seaman China's official Xinhua News Agency says disappeared when their ship sank off Taiwanese waters on Aug. 8. The seaman were employed by a shipping company in eastern China, Xinhua says.

source: YAHOO英文版 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090818/ap_on_re_as/as_asia_storm_140

Taiwan to Review Typhoon Response

By TING-I TSAI

TAIPEI -- 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 news conferences Tuesday -- one in English, one in Chinese -- Mr. Ma acknowledged that the typhoon will hurt the island's economic performance in the current quarter.

Mr. Ma said his administration will conduct a review of the storm response, to be completed by early September, to identify any errors. "We will have a review of the performance of the government to make sure to identify the mistakes," he said.

"Then we will start the investigation and punishment process," he added.

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 shuffle his cabinet in the aftermath of the disaster.

At the news conference in Chinese, aimed at local media, the president and four other senior officials bowed for 10 seconds in front of cameras to demonstrate contrition. Mr. Ma blamed the weather for the delay in the rescue mission during the storm's aftermath, and strongly defended his leadership and his administration's efforts.

"The heavy rain prevented the rescuers from having access to the mountain area," Mr. Ma said. "We did try our best."

An editorial in Taiwan's normally pro-Ma China Times newspaper on Tuesday said Typhoon Morakot highlighted fundamental flaws in the president's role as a leader.

Mr. Ma said the toll included 248 residents missing around the village of Shiao Lin, which was largely buried by a landslide. Taiwan's National Fire Agency on Tuesday listed 128 people confirmed killed, with 307 still missing. There was no explanation for the one-person discrepancy in the toll given by Mr. Ma and the one given by the fire agency. In the wake of the catastrophe, 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.

U.S. military helicopters, including two MH-53Es and two MH-60s, Tuesday joined the rescue operation and lifted excavation equipment into isolated areas that have been cut off by floods. The four helicopters took off, in waters near southern Taiwan, from the USS Denver, a cruiser based in Okinawa, Japan, said Christopher Kavanagh, spokesman of the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto U.S. embassy on the island.

A team of five from the European Union's Monitoring and Information Centre arrived Monday to assess future needs of Taiwan, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

source: 華爾街日報 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125057306708139361.html?mod=sphere_ts&mod=sphere_wd