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.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
RSS