Family members of Chang Po-wei (張博崴), a student at Chung Shan Medical University who died in a mountain climbing accident, yesterday accused the government of ineffective rescue efforts.
After 51 days of searching by local police, fire department, the military, volunteer civil rescue teams and teams hired by family members, Chang’s body was found near Beigang River (北港溪) in Yunlin County last week by two mountain climbers — two days after they launched their own search for the missing student.
Chang’s parents said their son had died in the mountains because the government did not use the GPS on their son’s cellphone to locate him.
Photo: Lin Chun-hung, Taipei Times, courtesy of Chang Po-wei’s family
They said they were mulling the possibility of seeking state compensation.
Chang’s mother said a medical examiner had determined that her son probably died five or six days before he was found. Her son was a good swimmer and the family had requested that rescue teams search near or at a river valley, she said.
RECOUNTING PROCESS
After her son’s disappearance, the commander of the rescue mission asked her if her son had gotten in a dispute with her or his girlfriend and could have been hiding, Chang’s mother said.
For their part, police initially refused their request to obtain detailed records of their son’s cellphone, stating requirements to respect personal information and privacy.
That, she said, cost additional rescue time.
GOING SOLO
Chang had set out to climb Baigu Mountain (白姑大山) on his own on Feb. 28.
At about 3:30pm on the second day, Chang’s girlfriend received a phone call from him saying he was lost, but believed he could find his way out. She lost contact with him after half an hour.
Chang’s family reported the matter to the police the same night.
His body was found close to where his parents and girlfriend had expected him to be.
Huang Kuo-shu (黃國書), the mountain climber who found the body, had called Chang’s girlfriend last week and asked her to confirm her hearing the sound of running water during her last conversation with Chang.
Huang tracked footprints and folded tree branches close to the river valley and described what looked like a tent in the vicinity. After climbing down 600m and crossing deep water and waterfalls, Huang found Chang’s body rolled in his sleeping bag, with his half-erected tent and backpack nearby.
Bloodstains on Chang’s pants led Huang to conclude that Chang may have injured himself after falling into the valley, forcing him to wait to be rescued.
‘PROFESSIONAL’ HELP
Chang’s father said that while the police and fire departments sent out teams of four people to search for three days, they limited their search to mountain trails.
Police told him they did not have ropes that were long enough to go down the valley, he said, while the military suspended searches whenever it rained or fogged.
After Chang’s body was found, the teams hired by the family to look for their son changed their explanations, saying they did not have the equipment to go down the valley, he said.
If all the teams involved had acted more professionally, his son would probably have been saved rather than waiting to die in his sleeping bag, the father said.
Chang’s parents said they were grateful for the civilian rescue teams’ efforts, but were angry at the government’s rescue plans and urged it to adopt stricter regulations on mountain climbing.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “[we] appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe