The day before I left for Taiwan, my wife, who was already there with the children, told me, “Typhoon Morakot is pounding Taiwan. We are running out of food at home.” I reassured her that typhoons typically last only 1-2 days, so they should be fine by the time I arrived.

Growing up in Taiwan, I have been through a lot of typhoons. When I was a kid, I used to love typhoons because school would be cancelled and there would always be a treasure hunt with my buddies afterwards. Now as an adult, I know what human tragedies these natural disasters can cause. Still, not in my wildest dreams, did I expect Morakot to be so devastating. In the three days that I was in Taiwan, I saw the horror first hand. With advances in media and internet, we can feel and witness the sorrow as if we were there. The disaster clearly has also gathered worldwide attention: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/08/15/typhoon.wrap.saturday/index.html.

Taiwan has less than 20 million in population, but its news media is second to none in the world. There are at least 6 television channels that are dedicated for news. Then there are CNN, NHK, BBC, all to which you can easily subscribe at a very low fee. The freedom of expression is also amazing. There are pro-blue (Nationalist) party channels, pro-green (Democratic Progressive Party) party channels, and more neutral channels. Political censorship is almost non-existent. I can sit in front of the TV all day long watching celebrity news analysts talk about politics. They are funny, witty, and creative at times. What amazes me this time is that all the news channels seem to move beyond party politics at this Morako crisis. They are all trying very hard to bring the latest news to the public. And they are all very critical of the handling of the disaster of the current administration. And they are all leveraging the power of the media to expedite rescue efforts.

The storm dropped 2.6 meters (102 inches) of rain on Taiwan and caused massive mudslides. One of the villages, called ShiaoLin Village, is at least 10 meters under a mudslide. Looking at where the village once was is like looking at a flat mud field without any sign of human existence. All 491 villagers were buried alive under the mud. It only took a few seconds for the entire village to be wiped out. After 8 days of efforts, family members and rescue teams finally arrived at the village only to setup funeral arrangements for the entire village. There were similar tragedies all over Southern Taiwan, mostly in the remote mountain villages where the indigenous people live. For those villages not buried, many of them are out of food and supplies.

The internet played a big part in rescue efforts. Social networking groups formed overnight. More than one hundred internet volunteers formed their own rescue team coordinating efforts and equipment to reach certain areas even before the military did. They used a lot of different internet tools to collaborate and coordinate and bring the necessary information, equipment, and resources. In addition, with satellite and internet maps, the general public can see the devastation of many areas vividly. Through a lot of public outcry and outreach, rescue efforts received more attention. It was the bombardment of internet blog and media criticism that finally pushed the government to recognize the magnitude of the discontent and mobilize all the resources possible.

It was also this public digging that revealed that someone in the government had initially refused foreign assistance. The government now acknowledges that they made a mistake in underestimating the seriousness of this disaster. Now international efforts, including China (which some still regard as an enemy state), are pouring in. There has to be a common understanding that there is no place for nationalism when it comes to preventing human suffering.

I have no doubt that the government should have done a lot better. The president of Taiwan, President Ma, finally acknowledged some mismanagement and offered an apology to the people of Taiwan. Many people think he still has not done enough. This disaster in Taiwan is impacting half of the country and mostly in remote areas. In contrast, when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, it paralyzed the entire city for a month in front of our eyes. I do not remember hearing President Bush say how sorry he was for the mismanagement of his part. There is no excuse for this degree of human suffering whether it is in New Orleans or in Taiwan. Leaders are not God and they cannot play God. They make mistakes like everyone else. The important part is to recognize the mistakes and move on quickly to correct them. We do not need leaders who cannot at least do this much.

In most democratic societies, politicians like to brag how great they are in order to gain votes. Their election teams like to brag how great their leader is in order to strengthen their place in the future. I hope that there can be more honesty and humility in our leaders. The former president of Taiwan, Mr. Chen, is in jail under corruption charges. The current president, Mr. Ma, had a clean image to win the election, but his Harvard education did little to teach him to accept responsibilities. The people of democratic societies also have to learn how to accept more humble, less glitzy leaders that can learn to do the right thing quickly. We want to elect “better” leaders, not “perfect” leaders.

Leaders often say that technology cannot prevent such natural disasters. They have all kinds of excuses for not doing their jobs right. However, when there is sufficient freedom of media and the right use of technology, we have the power to keep the leaders honest to their words and actions.