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.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators