Whenever the nation is hit by heavy rain, there are many reports about disaster striking different areas. As extreme weather is becoming routine, and earthquakes, heavy rain and droughts are becoming more intense and frequent, construction of infrastructure to deal with the effects of climate change must no longer be delayed.
A lot of people have cast doubts on the water infrastructure part of the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, describing it as not being “very forward-looking.”
The Water Resources Agency has set four principles relating to this part of the program:
First, faced with the threat of climate change, flooding and water shortages pose the greatest risk and has therefore been listed as a priority.
Second, Taiwan has joined the ranks of aging societies and disaster prevention facilities must be updated.
Third, responding to changes in industrial structure requires an increased focus on initiating water recycling programs.
Fourth, the most modern technology is needed to upgrade water conservation facilities.
Given the flooding caused by heavy rains last weekend, whether the proposed water projects are forward-looking is not the problem. Anything that can lower the effects of disasters should be initiated as soon as possible. The public does not care whether projects are forward-looking or not. What they care about is whether the infrastructure can help them live in a secure, healthy and sustainable environment.
The nation should not forget the casualties and the lessons learned from the 921 Earthquake, typhoons Nari and Morakot, the gas pipe explosion in Kaohsiung and the collapse of the Weiguan Jinlong complex in Tainan.
Natural disasters will continue to be expected and unpredictable, making policies to minimize their effects crucial.
For example, former minister of the interior Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源) has said that the last time there was a major earthquake in Taipei was during the third year of the Kangxi Emperor’s (康熙) reign in 1694. This means it has been more than 300 years since Taipei experienced a major earthquake. There are more than 30,000 buildings in the city that are 50 years or older, five major areas potentially prone to liquefaction and 1 million people living in those areas; an earthquake of magnitude 6.3 or more would cause 4,000 buildings to collapse.
The drive to promote urban renewal focused on disaster prevention is not effective, and the renewal of old buildings is not progressing. The huge risk is worrying, to say the least.
However, the danger does not only come from aging buildings in urban areas. Facilities that affect the public should also be subjected to security inspections and maintenance. The government must take the initiative to push for a civil engineering act that incorporates management and maintenance mechanisms to ensure that safety inspections of roads, bridges, hillside retaining walls, public piping and sewage systems are being carried out.
The government must also respond to the challenge posed by climate change and move to improve infrastructure in areas prone to flooding, water drainage and river dredging, flood prevention projects and infrastructure in water-sensitive cities.
The government needs to move quickly to address the possibility that the public might be left with the misconception that the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program is saddling future generations with debt, and make sure that the program looks backward as well as forward to ensure that what it leaves to future generations are useful and valuable assets.
Chuang Chun-wei is a civil engineer and executive director of the Taiwan Professional Civil Engineers’ Association.
Translated by Perry Svensson
A series of strong earthquakes in Hualien County not only caused severe damage in Taiwan, but also revealed that China’s power has permeated everywhere. A Taiwanese woman posted on the Internet that she found clips of the earthquake — which were recorded by the security camera in her home — on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu. It is spine-chilling that the problem might be because the security camera was manufactured in China. China has widely collected information, infringed upon public privacy and raised information security threats through various social media platforms, as well as telecommunication and security equipment. Several former TikTok employees revealed
The bird flu outbreak at US dairy farms keeps finding alarming new ways to surprise scientists. Last week, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed that H5N1 is spreading not just from birds to herds, but among cows. Meanwhile, media reports say that an unknown number of cows are asymptomatic. Although the risk to humans is still low, it is clear that far more work needs to be done to get a handle on the reach of the virus and how it is being transmitted. That would require the USDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to get
For the incoming Administration of President-elect William Lai (賴清德), successfully deterring a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attack or invasion of democratic Taiwan over his four-year term would be a clear victory. But it could also be a curse, because during those four years the CCP’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will grow far stronger. As such, increased vigilance in Washington and Taipei will be needed to ensure that already multiplying CCP threat trends don’t overwhelm Taiwan, the United States, and their democratic allies. One CCP attempt to overwhelm was announced on April 19, 2024, namely that the PLA had erred in combining major missions
On April 11, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivered a speech at a joint meeting of the US Congress in Washington, in which he said that “China’s current external stance and military actions present an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge … to the peace and stability of the international community.” Kishida emphasized Japan’s role as “the US’ closest ally.” “The international order that the US worked for generations to build is facing new challenges,” Kishida said. “I understand it is a heavy burden to carry such hopes on your shoulders,” he said. “Japan is already standing shoulder to shoulder