In preparation for the Deaflympics, the Taipei City Government will draw up a plan by the end of June to combine hotlines across the country for the hearing-impaired, a city official said on Monday.
Responding to queries from city councilors, Hsiung Kuang-hua (熊光華), director of the Taipei City Fire Department, said the city government would present a proposal to integrate hotlines for communication through text-messaging by the end of June and discuss other issues with the National Police Agency and the National Fire Agency to ensure the safety of athletes.
On Monday, Taipei City Councilor Chen Yu-mei (陳玉梅) said that prior to the Deaflympics in September, Taipei should seek to integrate the nationwide 119 and 110 hotlines for the hearing and speaking-impaired.
She also said that approximately 4,000 athletes were expected to compete at venues in Taipei City, Taipei County, Taoyuan County and Hsinchu County.
The four administrative districts have 11 different fax numbers and phone numbers for communication through text-messaging set aside for the Deaflympics, including five created by Taipei City alone, which is inconvenient, Chen said.
She said the city government had printed all the numbers on cards for distribution to the athletes.
In addition to pledging to seek consolidation of the hotlines, Hsiung said that, to ensure the safety of athletes during their stay in Taiwan, the department would train hotel workers and volunteers to handle emergency situations.
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