The 0923 Guangfu Flood a year ago caused hundreds of hectares of land in Guangfu Township on the south bank of the Matai'an River to be covered with huge amounts of sediment. One month after the disaster, 500,000 "Shovel Superman" people poured in to help the victims restore their homes. One year later today, the Hualien County Council held the "Light in the Mud - Liberation Thanksgiving Life Festival". Shovel Superman from all over the country returned to Guangfuxing Township. He also gathered in front of the station and marched on the street with the victims. The people shouted "Thank you Superman"!
The Guangfu Shovel Superman Thanksgiving event gathered in front of Guangfu Station today. Hualien County Councilor Yang Huamei said that Legislator Fu Kunqi had to deal with even small things like the venue. Fortunately, in the end, Taiwan Railway took back the land rights by waiving parking lot rent for three days, and then rented it to the county council so that the event could be held smoothly.
Including Hualien Speaker Zhang Jun and several councilors, Guangfu Township Mayor Lin Qingshui, village chiefs, leaders and community members welcomed hundreds of Shovel Superman in front of Guangfu Station this afternoon. Shovel Superman and the people held yellow sunflower balloons in their hands, symbolizing that Guangfu Township has stood up again. A long queue of people walked from the station to the event venue. Speaker Zhang Jun and the people of Guangfu Township shouted "Thank you Shovel Superman, welcome back"!
Mr. Zhou, a plumber from Banqiao, New Taipei Province, even rode a fake motorcycle to Guangfu Township last Mid-Autumn Festival to carry a truckload of plumbing parts and power tools to serve as the "Plumber Superman" to make the houses in the disaster area shine again! He said that today he set off from Taipei by bike early in the morning with a shovel on his back and arrived in Guangfu Township at 2:30 pm in time for Thanksgiving. He said that he was carrying a shovel on his back this time, but he was not here to provide disaster relief. He was really relieved to see that the recovery situation had become better.
Miss Shovel Superman Wang said that she stayed in Guangfu Township for two or three consecutive months last year to help victims contact government subsidies and disaster relief work. This time she came back and felt that Guangfu Township was slowly recovering. Although it has not fully recovered, the farmland on Fozu Street is still unable to be cultivated, but she believes it will get better and better.
Executive Yuan Political Affairs Councilor Ji Liancheng also returned to Guangfu Township today. The "Hualien Reform Governance Alliance" initiated by Zhang Jun issued a letter of appointment as "General Consultant for Disaster Prevention and Resilience" to General Ji. Ji Liancheng said that the reconstruction of Guangfu Township has been ongoing over the past year, and the southern line of the New Ma Tai'an River Bridge will be completed by the end of the year. The second embankment will also be built to protect the lives and property of Guangfu villagers. Today he also saw that tourists from the Hualien Sugar Factory, the command center during last year's disaster relief, have returned, which means that the economy of Guangfu Township is also recovering. He believes that Hualien needs to elect a county magistrate who can provide disaster relief and governance capabilities. He will also permanently serve as Hualien's unpaid disaster prevention consultant.
