The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) has drafted amendments that would increase the size of air defense shelters in new buildings, including schools and factories, to 1m2 per person, with more shelters to be located underground.
The proposed amendments to articles 141, 142 and 144 of the Building Technical Regulations (建築技術規則) were made in consideration of the likelihood that airstrikes would most likely be missile attacks, it said.
The draft amendments would require that shelter ventilation systems be mechanical, connect to emergency power supplies and provide a ventilation rate of at least 25m3 per hour per square meter of floor space.
Photo: CNA
Emergency lighting and power outlet devices would be installed in shelters, while requirements would be updated for door and window fireproofing, the draft says.
Washrooms would also be a required fixed feature in newly built air defense shelters.
The draft cited standards employed in other countries for public evacuation spaces used for short-term shelter, meaning one day or less.
For example, Finland requires a minimum of 0.75m2 per person, while South Korea mandates 0.825m2 and Switzerland 1m2, it says.
Current guidelines in Taiwan stipulate a minimum of 0.75m2 per person, which would be increased to 1m2, mainly for new buildings, an official with knowledge of the matter said.
The Building Technical Regulations, which mostly concern new buildings, allow for 0.9m2 per person according to calculations by the National Police Agency, which can be increased to 1m2, the official said.
The draft amendments would also require that reinforced concrete be at least 30cm thick for shelter walls, ceilings and spaces surrounding above-ground entrances and exits.
Current regulations call for a thickness of 24cm, below the 30cm enforced in South Korea, Switzerland and Singapore, the draft amendments say.
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
RSS