Rescue and disaster relief agencies went into high alert across Taiwan yesterday as typhoon Dan threatened the earthquake-stricken areas with more land-slides and flooding.
Officials at the Council of Agriculture said the council's satellite surveillance stations spotted 853 new sites of land-slides during the week from Sept. 30 to Oct. 7, with more than 100 landslides per day on average. The new landslides were found in Nantou County (766), Taichung County (74), Yunlin County (20), and Miaoli County (3).
A survey by the council revealed yesterday that 40 of the new landslides are located in densely populated areas.
The council has ordered its central Taiwan office to keep a round-the-clock watch on satellite information, officials said.
Council chairman Peng Tso-kwei (
Heavy rains are also quickly filling Tsaoling Lake (草嶺潭), which had been created by the 921 earthquake. The Water Resources Department began digging a diversion canal yesterday to reduce water pressure. How-ever, officials at the department expressed concern that the impact of the diversion might cause more landslides downstream.
Vice President Lien Chan (
Government spokesman Chen Chien-jen (程建人) said all quake victims living in tents had been evacuated to schools and other shelters.
Meanwhile, a group of 14 legislators set up a cross-party action group for Aborigines (原住民問政會) yesterday and demanded immediate action to help the Aborigines affected by the earthquake. Most of the 42 high-alert danger zones declared after the earthquake are located around aboriginal villages, said legislator Yang Jen-fu (楊仁福), chairperson of the group.
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
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