Disaster Distorted
The overflow of a barrier lake in Hualien County on Taiwan’s central east coast amid heavy rain last month left at least 18 dead and six missing. In the wake of the disaster, cable news outlets TVBS and EBC edited the remarks of some local residents to make it seem they were attacking Taiwan’s vice president, Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴). This prompted affected families to issue online statements expressing frustration over the misleading coverage. “We are a simple family impacted by the disaster,“ read a statement on Threads from the daughter of one woman appearing in the reports. “We have not taken any political position, and even more do not wish to be exploited as tools for political manipulation.”