TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Typhoon Kong-rey prompted President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Thursday (Oct. 31) to commend the collaboration between central and local governments in disaster response.
He emphasized the importance of this cooperation during a visit to the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC, 中央災害應變中心), accompanied by Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰).
Lai and Cho conducted video conferences with leaders from New Taipei City, Yilan County, Hualien County, Taitung County, Pingtung County, and Kaohsiung City to assess the situation.
President Lai expressed concern for the evacuation and power outage management in Hualien and Taitung counties.
He noted that all counties have low-orbit satellites, with Hualien having six units to ensure communication safety.
The president pointed out that in response to last week's earthquakes in Hualien and Chiayi, CEOC Commander and Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) lowered the standards for preventive evacuations.
Lai thanked the Ministry of National Defense (MND, 國防部) and the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation (慈濟基金會) for their assistance, highlighting the necessity of public-private cooperation in facing natural disasters. He expressed hope that this model will continue.
Furthermore, President Lai addressed the agricultural damage compensation in Hualien, urging the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA, 農業部) to process it promptly and generously to help affected farmers quickly resume their work.