The New Taipei City (新北市) Government and the Coast Guard Administration have drawn up plans to prevent further drownings at Shalun Beach, New Taipei City, after eight students who broke into a controlled area were washed away, resulting in four of them drowning.
Twelve students from Zheng De Junior High School on Friday afternoon sneaked into a closed-off area of the beach where swimming is prohibited because of undercurrents, eddies and whirlpools.
Eight of the students were washed away by strong waves while playing in the water. Of the eight, four were rescued, though one is in critical condition after being taken to hospital, and four were found dead.
Photo: Wu Po-hsuen, Taipei Times
Because the accident occurred outside of beach patrol hours, from 2pm to 6pm, the lack of supervision for most of the day prompted the city government to make a number of changes to improve safety.
Hours after the accident, New Taipei City Deputy Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said the government would coordinate with the coast guard to extend patrols by six hours from 8am to 6pm.
Hou said he would ask the fire department to put a 24-hour -inspection mechanism in place and possibly fine people who enter the prohibited area.
Shalun Beach, formerly known as the Shalun Seashore Swimming Area, had been off limits since 1999 because of undercurrents and whirlpools.
The water also contains heavy metals and active bacteria from pollution due to construction work on a new town along the Tamsui shoreline.
Since the closure of the beach, 18 people have drowned there, according to fire department records, but there are still people who ignore the warnings, city officials said.
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
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
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