Source: Straits Shinkansen
On the first day of Taiwan's Qingming holiday, the 408 train of the Taiwan Railway "Taroko" derailed, more than 50 people were unfortunately killed, and hundreds of people were seriously injured. Public opinion on both sides of the strait is highly concerned about this sudden disaster.
The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait [ARATS], the All-China Association of Taiwan Compatriots, and the Central Committee of the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League all expressed their high concern at the first time and expressed their condolences and condolences to the casualties caused by the accident. Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council responded in writing by expressing its gratitude to people from all walks of life on the mainland for their condolences and concern for this major accident.
Some mainland netizens said, "The same are the sons and daughters of China, may the deceased rest in peace." Another person said, "The pain of the loss of relatives of Taiwan compatriots is shared by mainland compatriots." In the message that came across the sea, in addition to paying a moment of silence to the victims, he also wished the injured people a speedy recovery and the strength of the survivors.
"It's just that on the Qingming Road, the souls of pedestrians are broken, who worships for whom?" Heartache, heartache..."
Sun Dachuan, former deputy head of the Taiwan Supervision Agency and associate professor at Taiwan Chengchi University, expressed such sentiments after the derailment of the 408 taiwan railway "Taroko" train. He often sits on the Huadong Railway, bluntly saying that this is "the feeling of passing by the god of death", and said that nothing is more important than "the convenience and safety of life". Similar to him, many scholars, politicians and social figures on the island have lamented the worst accident in taiwan railways in more than 40 years, and even more deplored the lives lost.
Ma Ying-jeou posted on his personal social page on the 3rd, using "heartbreak and sleeplessness" to describe the feelings after the accident.
He said: The most serious accident in the taiwan railway in half a century is another sad and heartbreaking day for Taiwan. 50 passengers were tragically killed, hundreds of people were seriously injured, and even if they escaped safely, they left shadows and trauma in the hearts of those rescued. He also pointed out that it is the responsibility of the "government" to make every effort to rescue, clarify the cause of the accident, and restore the public's confidence in public transport safety.
Ma Ying-jeou Infographic
Jiang Qichen, chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang, also posted on his personal social page on the afternoon of the 3rd, saying that he hoped that the "government" would correct the view that "responsibility is responsibility" and that the safety of people's travel is the responsibility that transportation departments and other units should work hard to ensure. After all, 50 lost lives cannot be compensated by anyone stepping down.
Jiang Qichen Infographic
Soong Chu-yu, chairman of the People First Party, also spoke out on the afternoon of the 3rd that it is heart-wrenching that Taiwan Railway has suffered another impact, and what have they learned after one accident after another? He said that Taiwan Railways is saddled with important transportation tasks, especially in remote villages where there is no fast road and rapid transit, and trains have become an important means of transportation for wanderers to return home. Therefore, the fare can not be completely considered from the operating costs, how to maintain the security and renewal of the Taiwan Railway, relying on the Taiwan Railway itself is not enough to benefit at all, the "government" needs to invest more resources to take care of.
Gao Jiayu, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), also spoke out on social media on the 3rd, saying that what is sad is that the negligence of a package merchant has caused so many people to be destroyed and many families to be broken; what is infuriating is that this is definitely not only the responsibility of the package business, but the most serious vigilance accumulated by the public organs for a long time to let the package business go cheaply.
Taiwanese writer Zhang Manjuan said in a Facebook post on the 3rd that when she learned of the disaster, in addition to shock, sadness, and anger, she instantly lost her voice, "This is not a natural disaster, this is a man-made disaster." There have been enough natural disasters in Taiwan, can man-made disasters not happen again..."
Taiwan's "China Times" summarized the major casualties of the Taiwan Railway over the years, and found that almost all of them were caused by man-made negligence, and the crux of the problem was basically caused by the rigidity of the "century-old shop" system of the Taiwan Railway and the ineffectiveness of the reform. Due to the overturning accident of the "Puyuma" train in October 2018, Lin Jialong, a politician from the Democratic Progressive Party, was "ordered to take over the transportation department of Taiwan" and issued many "prescriptions", but they were all big cakes in the air. Increasingly loose management, human negligence has become the daily routine of Taiwan Railways, and even incidents such as hidden rail breaks are not surprising, and the general direction of organizational transformation that Lin Jialong has vowed to be reduced to empty talk.
Taiwanese writer Liu Xinyue wrote in the China Times that in the DPP authorities' "forward-looking plan," hundreds of billions of New Taiwan dollars were invested in transportation construction, but the budget related to road safety accounted for only a very small proportion, and safe roads were still far away. Liu Xinyue bluntly said that the DPP authorities, which only do superficial work and have no intention of making in-depth long-term planning, are not the biggest risks to Taiwan?
Taiwan's "Lianhe Pao" published an editorial article holding that the problem of Taiwan Railways is not the lack of people or cars, but the problem of organizational culture. Sadly, from the "Puyuma" to the "Taroko" accident, the vast majority of those killed and injured are Taitung villagers, who gave huadong people a safe way home?
"During the Qingming Dynasty, the rain is pouring, and the pedestrians on the road want to break their souls", the article pointed out that as the leader of the Taiwan region, Tsai Ing-wen can definitely not only hold her family after each incident, but also let the safety accidents continue to sacrifice young people and countless families. From Tsai Ing-wen to Su Zhenchang, we must be bitter and carry out institutional reforms, and we can't just make a mouth. What the people of Taiwan need is a truly safe way home.
Some Taiwan media reported that although Tsai Ing-wen rushed to Hualien this morning to visit the families of the injured and the victims, promising that the "government" would provide the best care for the casualties and their families, there were still family members at the scene who cried out in grief that "no one can be saved"!
Many people are asking, is the most serious accident in the past four decades in Taiwan Railway just because of a construction vehicle that slipped off for unknown reasons? For the people of Taiwan, why is it so difficult to have a safe way home? Is there more than consolation and compensation after the fact, a responsible response and commitment?