At a consultation conference on the 921 earthquake held by the Control Yuan yesterday, scientists called on the government to adopt measures that would better prepare the island in the event of earthquakes. They said such measures would include geology-related laws to ensure people's safety and establish an official administrative unit to unite resources in diverse geological disciplines.
Control Yuan member Huang Huang-hsiung (黃?雄), the host of the conference, said yesterday that there are only about 30 professional geological experts in Taiwan. These are distributed among government agencies and private companies such as power plants and oil companies. Thus far, their talents and other resources have not been coordinated effectively.
"Maps of Taiwan's 51 fault lines are currently available in different versions which contain many obvious discrepancies. It is difficult to make corrections to these maps since different versions of the maps are used in research projects," said Chen Hung-yu (
"Scientific education in geology has been ignored for a long time, and it's time to call for the making of geology-related laws to protect people's lives," said Lin Ching-wei (
Scientists said that had people been properly educated, they would not have built houses on fault lines, nor would they have been so terrified by aftershocks. However, experts said strict legislation based on geologic structural considerations would protect people from getting hurt during earthquakes.
They said that basic geological research in Taiwan has been sporadic. While government officials have been making efforts to monitor faults and working towards some form of quake prediction, scientists agree that taking a well-prepared attitude toward unexpected earthquakes is preferable to relying on earthquake prediction.
"We've monitored known active faults, including the cause of the 921 quake -- the Chelungpu Fault (
"Had we established more monitors along the Chelungpu Fault, we could have sensed extraordinary phenomena by calculating concentrations of ions in groundwater and been able to warn people of the quake," added Huang.
According to MOEA documents, the CGS's first period of basic geological investigation into areas in western Taiwan threatened by potential earthquakes, initiated in 1996, is set to be completed by 2002. Further comprehensive studies of important active faults and investigation of faults in remote mountain areas will not be completed for another 10 years.
Huang stressed that monitoring faults is essential because 140 townships, about 40 percent of total townships in Taiwan, are locate exactly on or near fault lines.
In other words, 300,000 people live under threat of disasters caused by unexpected movement along fault lines.
However, some scientists from the academic community do not agree.
"It's not easy to obtain exact positions of faults because they are hidden underground.
"People should be prepared for earthquakes because the whole island [Taiwan] is in an area where the internal energy of the earth accumulates. Compared with older land masses, the island of Taiwan is very unstable," said Yu Guei-kun (余貴坤), an earth sciences professor from National Central University (國立??央?j學).
"We scientists cannot predict individual earthquakes. However, we can inform people living in vulnerable areas about potential disasters and help them to be prepared," said Shih Ruey-Chyuan (
GAINING STEAM: The scheme initially failed to gather much attention, with only 188 cards issued in its first year, but gained popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic Applications for the Employment Gold Card have increased in the past few years, with the card having been issued to a total of 13,191 people from 101 countries since its introduction in 2018, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. Those who have received the card have included celebrities, such as former NBA star Dwight Howard and Australian-South Korean cheerleader Dahye Lee, the NDC said. The four-in-one Employment Gold Card combines a work permit, resident visa, Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) and re-entry permit. It was first introduced in February 2018 through the Act Governing Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及雇用法),
RESILIENCE: Deepening bilateral cooperation would extend the peace sustained over the 45 years since the Taiwan Relations Act, Greene said Taiwan-US relations are built on deep economic ties and shared values, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday, adding that strengthening supply chain security in critical industries, enhancing societal resilience through cooperation and deepening partnerships are key to ensuring peace and stability for Taiwan in the years ahead. Greene made the remarks at the National Security Youth Forum, organized by National Taiwan University’s National Security and Strategy Studies Institution in Taipei. In his address in Mandarin Chinese, Greene said the Taiwan-US relationship is built on deep economic ties and shared interests, and grows stronger through the enduring friendship between
CAUTION URGED: Xiaohongshu and Douyin — the Chinese version of TikTok — are tools the Chinese government uses for its ‘united front’ propaganda, the MAC said Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) yesterday urged people who use Chinese social media platforms to be cautious of being influenced by Beijing’s “united front” propaganda and undermining Taiwan’s sovereignty. Chiu made the remarks in response to queries about Chinese academic Zhang Weiwei (張維為) saying that as young Taiwanese are fond of interacting on Chinese app Xiaohongshu (小紅書, known as RedNote in English), “after unification with China, it would be easier to govern Taiwan than Hong Kong.” Zhang is professor of international relations at Shanghai’s Fudan University and director of its China Institute. When giving a speech at China’s Wuhan
ENHANCE DETERRENCE: Taiwan has to display ‘fierce resolve’ to defend itself for China to understand that the costs of war outweigh potential gains, Koo said Taiwan’s armed forces must reach a high level of combat readiness by 2027 to effectively deter a potential Chinese invasion, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said in an interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) published yesterday. His comments came three days after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the US Senate that deterring a Chinese attack on Taiwan requires making a conflict “cost more than what it’s worth.” Rubio made the remarks in response to a question about US policy on Taiwan’s defense from Republican Senator John Cornyn, who said that Chinese
RSS