Mayor Chu was asked about the heavy rain no class and no work policy
New Taipei City Mayor Chu was interrogated by the councilmen for not announcing the no class and no work policy on time on June 12th when torrential rain was pouring in the city. According to Mayor Chu, the heavy rain was expected to become mild on the 11th, and from the weather forecast at Central Weather Bureau, the rain would only last until 8am to 9am the next morning on the 12th. It is thus reasonable to announce at 6:30am that students under high school would not have to go to schools that day.
Mayor Chu also notes that the reason why he didn’t announce the no work policy was that the rain did not exceed the danger standard according to the central government. However, it was later changed after Taipei City made the announcement at 10am.
Mayor Chu emphasizes that this is a special case and is different from the traditional typhoon where the precipitation can generally be expected in advance; however, because of the torrential rain that occurred so fast, it is very hard to make any predictions. Therefore, he further shows his apology for the belated decision and orders Education Bureau to inform schools in the city to make sure that children are safe and sound and wait until rain gets mild before they are picked up by their parents.