Rescue and disaster relief agencies went into high alert across Taiwan yesterday as typhoon Dan threatened the earthquake-stricken areas with more land-slides and flooding.
Officials at the Council of Agriculture said the council's satellite surveillance stations spotted 853 new sites of land-slides during the week from Sept. 30 to Oct. 7, with more than 100 landslides per day on average. The new landslides were found in Nantou County (766), Taichung County (74), Yunlin County (20), and Miaoli County (3).
A survey by the council revealed yesterday that 40 of the new landslides are located in densely populated areas.
The council has ordered its central Taiwan office to keep a round-the-clock watch on satellite information, officials said.
Council chairman Peng Tso-kwei (
Heavy rains are also quickly filling Tsaoling Lake (草嶺潭), which had been created by the 921 earthquake. The Water Resources Department began digging a diversion canal yesterday to reduce water pressure. How-ever, officials at the department expressed concern that the impact of the diversion might cause more landslides downstream.
Vice President Lien Chan (
Government spokesman Chen Chien-jen (程建人) said all quake victims living in tents had been evacuated to schools and other shelters.
Meanwhile, a group of 14 legislators set up a cross-party action group for Aborigines (原住民問政會) yesterday and demanded immediate action to help the Aborigines affected by the earthquake. Most of the 42 high-alert danger zones declared after the earthquake are located around aboriginal villages, said legislator Yang Jen-fu (楊仁福), chairperson of the group.
Taiwan moved clear of Mexico to be the only country at No. 2 in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Men’s Baseball World Rankings. Meanwhile, draft bills to set up a ministry of sports were approved at a joint session at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. After previously being tied with Mexico for second on 4,118 points, Taiwan moved clear on 5,498 points after they defeated Japan in the final of the WBSC Premier12 tournament on Sunday. Mexico (4,729) dropped to fourth, behind Venezuela (4,846), who finished fourth at the tournament. Taiwan narrowed the gap to first-placed Japan to 1,368 points from 1,638, WBSC
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday declared emergency martial law, accusing the opposition of being “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime” amid parliamentary wrangling over a budget bill. “To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness, I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said in a live televised address to the nation. “With no regard for the livelihoods of the people, the opposition party has paralysed governance solely for the sake of impeachments, special investigations, and shielding their leader from justice,” he
GLOBAL SUPPORT: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the motion highlighted the improper exclusion of Taiwan from international discussion and cooperative mechanisms Taiwan yesterday thanked the British parliament for passing a motion stating that UN Resolution 2758 does not involve Taiwan, making it the latest body to reject China’s interpretation of the resolution. The House of Commons on Thursday debated the international status of Taiwan and unanimously passed a pro-Taiwan motion stating that the House “notes that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the political status of Taiwan or establish PRC [People’s Republic of China] sovereignty over Taiwan and is silent both on the status of Taiwan in the UN and on Taiwanese participation in UN agencies.” British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Parliamentary
HIGH ALERT: The armed forces are watching for a potential military drill by China in response to the president’s trip, with the air force yesterday conducting an exercise President William Lai (賴清德) is to make stopovers in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam during his seven-day trip to the South Pacific, his first official visit since taking office in May, the Presidential Office said yesterday. Lai, accompanied by a delegation, is scheduled to depart for the South Pacific on a chartered flight at 4:30pm tomorrow, stopping first in Hawaii for a two-night layover before traveling to the Marshall Islands, an office official said. After wrapping up his visits to the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, the president is to transit through Guam, spending a night there before flying to Palau,
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