Minister of the Interior Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源) yesterday acknowledged that there were flaws in the preparations for a swimming race in Kenting (墾丁) that ended in disaster on Sunday and promised lawmakers that he would launch a probe into the incident.
“We had made emergency response preparations by deploying 250 lifeguards, 30 divers, 10 wet bikes, 30 bamboo rafts and two ships provided by the Coast Guard Administration,” Kenting National Park Headquarters director Chen Chen-jung (陳貞蓉) told a question-and-answer session at the Internal Administration Committee. “However, I have to admit that we didn’t have a drill on how to respond to an accident like this. Actually, we’ve never had one [like this] before.”
More than 300 swimmers out of 4,300 who took part in the swimming contest organized by the Kaohsiung Adult Swimming Association along the coast of Kenting, Hengchun Township (恆春), in Pingtung County were swept away by currents and strong winds, with some seriously injured, on Sunday.
Two of the seven swimmers hospitalized — 61-year-old Shih Nan-ching (施南靖) and 73-year-old Wang Ching-tzi (王靜子) — were seriously injured.
The incident raised concern among lawmakers across party lines who asked whether ministry officials were prepared to deal with emergency situations in such events.
“As the government authority in charge of overseeing the event, Kenting National Park Headquarters obviously was not fully prepared to respond to the incident,” Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said.
Lee admitted that there were defects in the ministry’s preparation for the event and promised to launch an investigation.
“The probe will be done in a month, and a report that includes the list of officials to be held responsible will be delivered to the legislature,” he said.
Pingtung County Commissioner Tsao Chi-hung (曹啟鴻) said the county would provide unmanned aerial vehicles to support similar sports events and help injured people get medical assistance.
Meanwhile, the Central Weather Bureau and experts said the event organizer was negligent and suggested that regulations for holding outdoor swim meets be formulated.
The bureau said it would make routine weather forecasts at 5am every day, including wind and wave forecasts for coastal areas, to help event organizers in the future.
Taiwan has 14 outlying weather buoy stations that provide wave and wind reports and send related information back to the bureau every hour through mobile phones and satellite phones. One such station is located near the scene of the incident.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS