President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday expressed his "grave concern" and instructed government departments to embark on relief work, in the wake of yesterday's early morning earthquake.
At 6am, the president assigned secretary-general of the Presidential Office Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) to attend a briefing made by the response center under the National Fire Administration (消防署).
"The president has been well informed and given all the related information. He has given executive departments full authority to handle the relief efforts," Chang said.
Chen will not inspect the quake-stricken areas for the time being, according to Chang.
Soon after the quake, Premier Tang Fei (唐飛) -- who is still recuperating in the Veterans General Hospital -- phoned secretary-general of the Cabinet Wei Chi-lin (魏啟林), Vice Premier Yu Shyi-kun and Minister of National DefenseWu Shih-wen (伍世文) to coordinate relief efforts.
At the press conference held in the hospital later, Tang said the Executive Yuan would allocate NT$200 million to the prevention of mudslides.
Since the earthquake did not cause serious casualties and damage, the Executive Yuan would assist, rather than lead relief efforts by local governments, Tang said.
Obviously concerned about mudslides triggered by heavy rain in the coming few days, Tang urged local governments not to ignore their potential danger.
He called for people who lived in areas with a risk of mudslides to temporarily leave their homes and seek shelter in a safe place.
Directed by the premier, the Ministry of National Defense established an emergency response center to gather first-hand information of the damage caused by the quake.
The command center for the tenth legion of the army deployed in central Taiwan would join relief efforts to prevent landslides, Tang said.
Minister of the Interior Chang Po-ya (
Chang urged people to stay alert and take care because of after-shocks and mudslides.
Chang also called on the Ministry of the Interior in central Taiwan to examine the extent of damage in areas affected by the 921 quake.
Yesterday morning Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭) visited the Central Weather Bureau for a brief on the weather situation.
Yeh said the jolt yesterday was an after-shock of the 921 earthquake and advised people not to visit mountainous areas in case of mudslides triggered by heavy rain.
The chairman of the Council of Agriculture Chen Hsi-huang (陳希煌) formed a "disaster prevention center" yesterday morning.
Also, after an emergency meeting at the council, Chen visited the quake-stricken area. Chen said the council would start preparing for the evacuation of people in mudslide-prone areas and complete road repairs soon.
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January last year have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
A Vietnamese migrant worker yesterday won NT$12 million (US$379,627) on a Lunar New Year scratch card in Kaohsiung as part of Taiwan Lottery Co’s (台灣彩券) “NT$12 Million Grand Fortune” (1200萬大吉利) game. The man was the first top-prize winner of the new game launched on Jan. 6 to mark the Lunar New Year. Three Vietnamese migrant workers visited a Taiwan Lottery shop on Xinyue Street in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan District (崗山), a store representative said. The player bought multiple tickets and, after winning nothing, held the final lottery ticket in one hand and rubbed the store’s statue of the Maitreya Buddha’s belly with the other,
RSS