An inter-agency national action plan will be launched to teach more Taiwanese students and servicemen how to swim, Sports Affairs Council Minister Tai Hsia-ling (戴遐齡) said.
The ambitious 12-year plan, supervised by the Executive Yuan, hopes to teach at least eight out of 10 Taiwanese students, soldiers, policemen and firemen how to swim, which will dramatically reduce cases of drowning, Tai said.
“In an island country like Taiwan, it is difficult to fathom why there are so many drownings and why so few people know how to swim,” Tai said, adding that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), an avid swimmer, is the driving force behind the scheme.
Almost all major developed countries, such as Japan, France and the UK, have public policies to promote swimming, she said.
According to Tai, the ratio of swimming pools per 100,000 students between Japan and Taiwan is an eye-popping 188 to 9.6. Citing a WHO study conducted in 2001, she added that the ratio of drownings per 100,000 children under the age of 14 in Japan and Taiwan is 0.6 to 1.8.
Under the project, pools will be built, personnel will be trained and pool management will be improved from this year until 2022, so that local people will have better access to swimming facilities.
A supervisory committee under the Executive Yuan will set targets for different groups. Among them, 80 percent of school children, 85 percent of military servicemen and 80 percent of police officers will have to be able to swim for at least 50m, while 90 percent of firemen and all Coast Guard Administration staff will be required to pass a 200m test.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
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