A fight has broken out in Taiwan over whether the government really lacks money to handle flooding in the south, with both sides blaming each other as victims wait for help.

• Premier Cho Jung-tai said budget cuts left him checking on southern flood damage by phone instead of visiting in person.
• The fund covering his disaster visits and recovery work was cut by 90%, to a fraction of its original size.
• The opposition KMT called that a stunt, saying the cabinet is sitting on trillions in tax money and only pretending to be broke.
• The KMT also says southern cities got hundreds of billions in flood-control money over two decades and still flood badly.
• The KMT accuses Cho of turning official trips into campaign stops for a party candidate while flood victims wait.

Outlook: Expect the blame trading to keep escalating as local elections approach and rebuilding in the south drags on.