The 2007 International Workshop on Emergency Response and Rescue opened yesterday in Taipei for two days of discussions to share experiences on emergency relief and disaster management and to step up international cooperation in preparation for future operations.
The two-day confab, held at the National Rescue Command Center, will feature seven lectures, including three given yesterday by guest speakers from Canada.
Timothy Armstrong, leader of the Vancouver Urban Search and Rescue Team, explained the organization and training of his team, which rescued 119 flood victims in five days of rescue efforts in early September 2005 in areas around New Orleans, Louisiana, which were devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
Stephen Svensson discussed his experience in New Orleans as a member of Vancouver's Urban Search and Rescue team, while Murray Day, director of the Emergency Management Division of the Justice Institute of British Columbia, talked about Canada's emergency response management system.
Minister of the Interior Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋) awarded citations to 25 people for their roles in search and rescue operations during the past year.
Among them was Chen Hou-chuan (
Lee cited statistics showing that from 2002 until the end of last month, the National Rescue Command Center conducted 2,414 operations in response to emergency situations around Taiwan and helped 11,553 people in distress.
He said since the ministry's National Fire Agency had been given the responsibility of managing the National Rescue Command Center, the center's air rescue abilities had increased considerably, with the number of people rescued by helicopter increasing by an average of 86 percent per month.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
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A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all