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.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as