VP Chen vows to deepen public-private collaboration on building safety

2019/09/24

Vice President Chen Chien-jen said the government is seeking to deepen public-private sector collaboration on building safety as the country marked the 20th anniversary of the devastating Sept. 21, 1999 earthquake.
 
 At a memorial mass and concert held Saturday by local nongovernmental organization the New Homeland Foundation in central Taiwan’s Nantou County, Chen said that only through working together with the private sector was the government able to realize reconstruction efforts following the earthquake. This helped prevent the spread of contagious diseases, he added.
 
 The importance of public-private sector collaboration was reiterated by Chen the next day when he addressed the annual assembly of the Taipei City-based Chinese Union of Professional Civil Engineers Association.
 
 According to Chen, all who live in Taiwan should have access to homes built to the highest safety standards. Further public-private collaboration is necessary if this goal is to be achieved, he said, adding that areas such as renovating dangerous buildings, improving quake resistance and updating relevant laws and regulations are prime targets for cooperation.
 
 The Sept. 21, 1999 earthquake took place in Nantou’s Jiji Township. The magnitude 7.3 tremor claimed more than 2,000 lives and left tens of thousands of people injured as well as more than 80,000 houses destroyed.

Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)