SMOKE SCREEN?SMOKE SCREEN? Netizens said DPP Legislator Chao Tien-lin’s remarks were politically motivated to deflect blame away from the party’s mayors and county commissioners
Taipei Times
Date: Sep 29, 2016
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter
Netizens yesterday criticized Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) for blaming
A man yesterday clears away fallen branches from a street in Taipei following damage caused by Typhoon Megi on Tuesday. Photo: CNA
the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) for some local governments’ misjudgement in calling a half-day typhoon day on Tuesday, saying Chao was attempting to shift the responsibility away from the party’s mayors and county commissioners.
Chao on Tuesday asked Central Weather Bureau Director-General Shin Tzay-chyn (辛在勤) to apologize for the inaccurate forecasts that led local governments in the south to declare only a half-day typhoon day on Tuesday as Typhoon Megi swept across the nation.
Local residents criticized the decision after they had to commute in bad weather, with Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德), Chiayi County Commissioner Helen Chang (張花冠), Chiayi Mayor Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲) and Yunlin County Commissioner Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) all apologizing for the decision.
Chao said the bureau’s forecast at 4pm on Monday suggested that the wind speeds in Kaohsiung on Tuesday morning would meet the requirement to suspend classes and work, but the bureau later lowered its estimated wind speeds to below the requirement. [FULL STORY]
