Comments that President Ma Ying-jeou made to an international news crew about the rescue efforts following Typhoon Morakot yesterday angered some of the storm’s victims after they were translated into Chinese.

While inspecting Jiaxian Township in Kaohsiung County, where Xiaolin Village was completely wiped out, Independent Television Network (ITN) reporter Rahit Kachroo asked Ma if Taiwan should have been better prepared for the storm, to which Ma replied, in English, that the villagers were caught by surprise, which contributed to the losses.