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The besieged Taiwanese government has approved a special NT$100 billion (HK$23.5 billion) budget for typhoon reconstruction in an attempt to regain public support  following widespread outrage over its response  to the Typhoon Morakot disaster.
Vowing to help thousands of victims rebuild homes and return to normal life, Taiwanese Premier Liu Chao-shiuan  yesterday approved the three-year special budget. Funding will come from selling government stakes in a local bank and by issuing public bonds.
The premier said  work on  overall reconstruction must be seamless to ensure it  proceeded and smoothly.
He ordered the Council for Economic Planning and Development to draw up a master plan for development at the regional level for the  disaster areas.  
'We can waste no time, and  reconstruction must start as soon as possible,' he said.
Thousands of families in southern and eastern Taiwan were inundated by floodwaters at least one storey high, while residents of at least six mountain villages fled for their lives as mud- and rockslides buried their homes as Morakot wreaked havoc on the island from August 7 to 9.
Official figures put the death toll at 141, with 440 missing. But the figures have yet to include 466 people missing after a mudslide five storeys high levelled Hsiaolin village in Kaohsiung  on August 9.
Initial estimates put the damage bill from Morakot at  NT$110 billion, including NT$13.45 billion in agricultural losses. 
Although the government predicted yesterday that the impact of the typhoon would cut 0.24 of a percentage point from  growth in gross domestic product this year, most local economists agreed that the reconstruction and other recovery projects launched by the government and private sector should offset losses.
'The NT$100 billion reconstruction fund could help lift the economy by 0.29 of a percentage point, allowing GDP to shrink just 3.75 per cent instead of 4.04 per cent as we have forecast for this year,' said Shih Su-mei,  head of the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics. Her agency predicted GDP would grow by 3.92 per cent next year.
While the impact on the economy in general appears to be small, tourism  has been hit hard, as such beauty spots as Alishan  - the must-see mountain resort for mainland tourists in the southwestern county of Chiayi - were badly damaged by flooding and mudslides.
Taiwanese media said the  typhoon  would cause hotels and restaurants to lose more than NT$100 million and that it could take up to two years for key infrastructure to be restored.
'We could stand to lose 10 per cent of tourists or NT$2.7 billion in lost business if we fail to attract overseas people to visit Taiwan,' said Janice Lai  Seh-jen, director general of the Tourism Bureau. 
Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou visited disaster-stricken areas in the south  to offer his support to victims and promise speedy reconstruction.  
As Mr Ma toured Hsinkai  village in Kaohsiung, which was buried by mudslides, survivors shouted 'no apologies, but reconstruction'. The  government ordered Taiwanese flags to fly at half-mast from tomorrow until  Monday as a mark of respect for  the dead.
The  natural disaster has been labelled  Taiwan's worst in half a century, but people have blamed a slow response and lack of co-ordination by the government as contributing to the high number of casualties. 
According to a TVBS poll, Mr Ma's approval rating in June last year, one month after  he assumed office, stood at 41 per cent, and it slipped to 16 per cent on Wednesday. For Dr Liu, it dropped from 43 per cent to  13 per cent.
The vice-minister of foreign  affairs, Andrew Hsia Li-yan, who had rejected overseas aid in the disaster, tendered his resignation on Monday. It would be taken up as part of a cabinet reshuffle early next month, Dr Liu has said.
After the storm 
Taipei's relief package is aimed at  getting the island back on its feet after  the onslaught of Typhoon Morakot
Relief package: HK$ 23.5b 
Agricultural losses: HK$ 3.1b
Construction, business, tourism and other losses: HK$ 18.8b
Donations: HK$ 1.1b
Casualties: 141 dead, 440 missing, 45 injured  



Taipei approves HK$23.5b for typhoon reconstruction