Tainan Mayor William Lai said on Sunday that the NT$4 billion (US$123 million) donated to the Tainan earthquake victims will not be used for other purposes.
Lai was speaking at a meeting with owners of residences of the Weiguan Jinlong complex which collapsed during the earthquake. The collapse led to the death of 115 persons in the building. There are 107 households who own residences there and 204 persons from 101 households attended the city meeting.
Donations from all corners of society came in at over NT$4billion (US$123 million). Lai promised the city would not use the funds for public construction or to build a museum. He said the funds are to be used to take care of victims and reconstruction for the homeowners.
He said it would be up to the homeowners to decide what to do with the land. But Lai said that rebuilding a housing complex would be the most efficient plan and would take about two and a half years to finish.
The homeowners said it would be difficult to agree on a plan and asked the city to come up with suggestions that would help them decide.
The meeting was supposed to be a closed-door meeting between Weiguan Jinlong homeowners and city officials. But reporters were later invited at the request of homeowners and the media.