President Ma Ying-jeou held a conference on the evening of May 11 at the Presidential Office Building focusing on water conservation and flood prevention. The president invited the heads of agencies under the Executive Yuan to discuss the challenges facing Taiwan, which is currently experiencing a drought, and the upcoming flood season, and also to formulate response measures and long-term strategies.
In pre-conference remarks, the president noted that rainfall this year is well down from the year-ago period. Water levels at important reservoirs in Shimen, Baoshan, Nanhua, Yeonghoshan, and Liyutan are all at less than 40% of capacity, which is only 30-40% of historical levels at this time of the year. This year's first typhoon, Typhoon Aere, did not bring much rain to the island, and because last year was a La Niña year, rainfall over the coming two months is likely to be below normal. Even though the Executive Yuan has adopted measures in response to the drought and begun water rationing, the water shortage could affect household usage, agriculture, and the business and industrial communities. The president said he hopes that government agencies will treat the drought as a national security issue and draw on their collective wisdom to benefit the public in dealing with the drought and guarding against flooding. Besides addressing the short-term water shortage, these efforts are also aimed at formulating comprehensive long-term strategies to counter situations where drought and floods occur simultaneously.
In addition to briefings by the Central Weather Bureau focusing on short- and medium-term weather forecasts, President Ma also heard from the Water Resources Agency and Industrial Development Bureau (both of which are under the Ministry of Economic Affairs) and the Council of Agriculture on the looming water shortage here and measures taken in response. The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of National Defense also delivered reports on preparations for disaster prevention and rescue work.
The president afterward commented that experience over the past two-plus years with Typhoon Parma, Typhoon Fanapi, and Typhoon Megi has led to refinements in Taiwan's flood prevention measures. The military, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the Council of Indigenous Peoples, and the Council of Agriculture have overhauled existing systems and equipment and increased disaster preparedness specialists, and local governments have also improved their state of readiness. The president applauded these efforts and called on everyone to keep up the good work. As for drought prevention, the president remarked that droughts are not so frequent in Taiwan and the public is less familiar with what needs to be done, which means that "we ourselves are the enemy" when droughts occur. Running out of water would be quite a serious problem, so the president called on central government agencies to strengthen public awareness campaigns, do needed preparatory work, and propose long-term plans.
President Ma stressed that the matters addressed at the conference have a bearing on national security. Life cannot be sustained without water, he said, pointing to Singapore as an example of the importance of water rights to sovereignty. Even though Singapore relies on Malaysia for its water supply, Singapore still builds reservoirs and works to develop new water resources. Taiwan, the president remarked, cannot let down its guard in this respect. Noting that the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) will remain the competent authority for water resources until authority for such matters is transferred to the future Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, the president called on the Executive Yuan to set up a taskforce in the meantime to address water resource issues by adopting short-, medium- and long-term plans, and by carrying out early-phase public awareness campaigns.
Persons attending the meeting included National Security Council Secretary-General Hu Wei-jen (胡為真), Presidential Secretary-General Wu Jin-lin (伍錦霖), Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), Executive Yuan Secretary-General Lin Join-sane (林中森), Interior Minister Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱), Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國), Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥), Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Wu-hsiung (陳武雄), Government Information Office Minister Philip Y.M. Yang (楊永明), Environmental Protection Administration Minister Stephen Shu-hung Shen (沈世宏), Minister of the Council of Indigenous Peoples Sun Ta-chuan (孫大川), Minister without Portfolio Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘), Minister without Portfolio Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源), Water Resources Agency Director-General Yang Wei-fu (楊偉甫), and Industrial Development Bureau Director General Tyzz-Jiun Duh (杜紫軍).