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Mass CPR drill breaks Australian record

More than 3,000 people practiced cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in a training drill in Taipei County yesterday, breaking the Guinness world record for the number of people simultaneously performing CPR.

At the training drill, which was held to mark the launch of the Taipei County First Aid Promotion Center, 3,249 people performed CPR simultaneously in the square in front of the Taipei County Government Office, breaking the record set by 2,308 people in Australia.

The Taipei County Government will submit a videotape of the drill to editors of the Guinness Book of World Records to have the new record verified, Taipei County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) said.

Addressing a ceremony to mark the Taipei County First Aid Promotion Center's launch, Chou said he would work to promote health and safety in Taipei County.

The first aid center was established with resources from the Taipei County Fire Department and several hospitals and private first aid organizations.

Chou said that only 10 percent of attempts to save someone with CPR are successful in Taiwan, compared with 40 percent in the US, and called on the public to learn how to perform CPR.

He expressed hope that courses on CPR would increase the number of people capable of saving people's lives in critical situations and increase the number of instructors capable of teaching life-saving skills.

Of the 3,229 people, the oldest was Wang Tien (王甜), 97, while the youngest was a four-year-old girl named Chou Yu (周俞).

Wang said that performing CPR was a piece of cake, adding that she had saved others' lives when she was young and felt CPR was important.
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