Taiwan and Japan’s shared experiences of recovering from natural disasters offer the hope of a model that could advance disaster prevention capacity in countries throughout Asia and the world.
The remarks were made by President Lai Ching-te in a video screened at a Taiwan-Japan disaster prevention forum held Jan. 30 in Kaohsiung City. According to the Presidential Office, the event was organized by the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, drawing representatives from Kaohsiung, Tainan City, and Sendai and Kumamoto in Japan.
Taiwan and Japan have built a deep bond through reciprocal relief efforts, Lai said. He praised Sendai for its rebuilding experiences following the earthquake of March 11, 2011, and Kumamoto for its expertise in disaster planning and groundwater conservation.
The president went on to recognize Kaohsiung and Tainan for actively leveraging smart technology to strengthen response capabilities to extreme weather, and also discussed the Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee, which he established to unite central and local government responses to disasters and smoothly integrate public and private sector resources into those plans.
The bilateral symposium centered on three major themes, Lai said, adding that they are in line with the work of the PO’s resilience committee. First: protect key infrastructure including communications, energy, and transportation networks. Second: utilize artificial intelligence and advanced technology to achieve precise data analysis and build a real-time warning system. Third: deepen public-private collaboration by integrating the government, civil groups and community organizations, the president mentioned.
With Taiwan’s exceptional ability to bring technology to bear and Japan’s sophisticated system designs and breadth of experience in disaster prevention, Lai called for even closer cooperation in personnel training and technological research and development as well as exchange of key supplies. (POC-E)
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