President Ma apologizes

"We won't take (disciplinary) action now," Ma said, "lest it affect the ongoing relief and reconstruction work. But we will, in two months."

Asked for comment on the criticism hurled against him for the delays in rescue and relief operations, President Ma said the urgent task facing Taiwan is reconstruction, only after which his performance should be rated.

In a short vote CNN conducted regarding his standing down as president, Ma said he realized the dissatisfaction of the people with his performance. "I'll try to improve so that reconstruction can be completed with success," he pointed out.

Premier Liu was criticized for dyeing his hair at a barber's shop in Taipei on August 11.

"He said to me," President Ma told reporters, "he only had a monthly haircut. But he had to think whether it's the right time to have a haircut (while everybody else was busy coping with the disaster)."

Steve Hsueh, Liu's secretary-general, was reported to celebrate a Father's Day party on August 8.

"Some officials did things that reflect discredit on them," President Ma admitted. "Their conduct will be considered when a general assessment is made of performances by responsible public functionaries," he said.

The vice premier denied he told Chen Chao-min, minister of national defense, he did not think the disaster was bad enough to warrant mobilization of troops.

Chiu was reported to have said, "Is the situation that bad?"

"I never said that," Chiu declared.

Chen denied any delay in dispatching troops to disaster areas to engage in rescue and evacuation operations. "We'll make a review after the present operations are over," he said, "and we will take disciplinary action against anyone found in dereliction of duty."

Ma was also queried whether he forgot he is commander-in-chief in dealing with the August 8 disaster. President Lee Teng-hui visited the disaster area on the day he learned of the September 21 earthquake and ordered the participation by troops in the rescue operations while he was in the field.

"The fact that I visited victims proves that I am the commander-in-chief," Ma said. Military involvement in the rescue operations was delayed in Taiwan's worst disaster in history.

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