The Ministry of the Interior is drawing up guidelines to manage large gatherings.
The ministry held a seminar yesterday, with experts describing safety measures that should be heeded for large gatherings, with officials from the National Police Agency, the Construction and Planning Agency and the Ministry of Health and Welfare attending.
Officials from local governments shared their experience from holding large gatherings such as the New Year’s Eve event in Taipei, Christmasland in New Taipei City and the Taichung World Flora Exposition.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism
The interior ministry has drafted safety guidelines for such events, but is seeking opinions from other agencies to prevent accidents and bolster emergency response capabilities, Vice Minister of the Interior Wu Tang-an (吳堂安) said.
It promulgated rules for large gatherings after a dust explosion at the Formosa Fun Coast (八仙樂園) water park in New Taipei City’s Bali District (八里) in 2015 killed 15 people and injured 508, Wu said.
The rules stipulate that event organizers have to notify local governments or apply for permission to hold large gatherings according to their self-government ordinances, he said.
The National Fire Agency has commissioned experts to draft new rules that are guided by regulations in other countries, as well as a review of Taiwan’s laws and regulations, he said.
Organizers of large gatherings can draw up safety plans based on the interior ministry’s rules, Wu said.
National Fire Agency Director-General Hsiao Huan-chang (蕭煥章) said that Taiwan is in discussions with the US regarding response plans of government agencies at all levels during major emergencies.
The seminar focused on how local governments can implement their own ordinances for large gatherings, Hsiao said.
The interior ministry is also planning to train community response teams for occasions at which crowds might gather, he said, adding that the program would initially be rolled out in areas with potential risks next year.
Ming Chuan University professor of architecture Wang Jieh-jiuh (王价巨) said that an agency dedicated to supervising large gatherings should be created.
Organizers and local governments should carry out risk assessments and draw up emergency response plans, Wang said.
Taipei Fire Department official Lu Chia-hsien (呂佳憲) spoke about the safety preparations for a New Year’s Eve event in Taipei that focuses on sites near Elephant Mountain (象山).
It plans to use image analysis techniques and crowd-detection warning systems, Lu said.
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