There has been a spate of accidents involving falling objects, with some people killed by air-conditioners or crushed by trees.
On Wednesday last week, the ceiling of a walkway on Chongqing N Road in Taipei collapsed and landed on scooters parked below. Luckily, no one was hurt.
Accidents are not just a question of probability. They are often the result of a lack of safety awareness and risk management. If people were more alert to potential dangers in their work and travel, there might be fewer accidents.
Conversely, things tend to go wrong when people leave things to chance or just do not care.
In the suburbs of Taitung City is a 2km-long “green tunnel” formed by dozens of century-old Bishopwood trees. The green tunnel is on a famous scenic road in Taitung County. Vehicles pass through it traveling south to Taitung City on Provincial Highway No. 9.
When Typhoon Haikui made landfall in Taitung on Sept. 3, it knocked over many trees along roads or bent them over. Although the local authorities quickly dispatched workers to clean up, they only cleared away trees that were blocking roads, not the broken branches dangling in the roof of the green tunnel.
The branches were as high as the second or third story of a building — too high for standard machinery to reach, so they were not pruned.
Bishopwood branches can be 20cm to 30cm thick. If the trunks can no longer bear their weight, or if there is a strong wind, including from large vehicles passing beneath, the branches could fall.
People living near the green tunnel noticed this potential danger. They took photographs of the situation and reported it to the local authorities, seeking action to avert the danger as quickly as possible.
However, the local authorities said that provincial highways are not the responsibility of local governments.
The broken branches are scary for local residents, including more than 100 children and staff at the nearby Kids Alive International children’s home, to travel through the tunnel for fear of falling debris.
Government departments emphasize division of authority and responsibility, but when problems arise, they try to shift the responsibility.
Even if a problem is not their responsibility, they should contact the appropriate department.
Unfortunately, as of the time of writing this article, no one had taken the initiative to fix the branches problem.
When passersby catch sight of the precariously suspended broken branches, they can only pray that nothing will fall on them.
Shiao Fu-song is a lecturer at National Taitung University.
Translated by Julian Clegg
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then