Nantou County, Sept. 20 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian visited Chushan Industrial Park in Nantou County, central Taiwan, which bore the brunt of the 7.6-magnitude quake on Sept. 21, 1999.
The president said that he had recently visited Nantou County and was told that the number of tourists visiting the area had increased 30 percent since the quake. He said that the more than 20-year-old Chushan Industrial Park has been assisted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs in its transformation after the earthquake, and it is now moving toward a complex combining tourism, culture and leisure.
With the coming of the fourth anniversary of the Sept. 21 earthquake on Sunday, the president said that he was happy to learn that residents affected by the quake have emerged from the shadow of destruction. He said that all 293 collapsed schools, except for four schools which will be completed by the end of the year, have been rebuilt and they are stronger and more beautiful than before.
Regarding community reconstruction, he noted that out of more than 170 damaged buildings, about 100 have applied for reconstruction permits and some of them have completed reconstruction. The president also lauded the rebuilding of the tourism sector, citing figures showing that tourist levels have returned to pre-quake numbers. In the first eight months of this year, tourism grew by 10 percent over the same period last year, showing no slowdown even with severe acute respiratory syndrome hitting Taiwan between March and June. "Seeing the smiles of the people of the quake-affected areas is like seeing the hope of the nation," the president said.
The president earlier presided over a charity auction of the painter Shen Cheng-yin, who is from the quake-affected region. The price of the landscape painting of Sun Moon Lake soared to NT$200,000 from its opening price of NT$50,000.
The president later visited Chushan Senior High School to attend the opening ceremony of the Taiwan Junior Chamber of Commerce there.