Chinese Taipei and China Work Together on APEC Disaster Recovery Program

Chinese Taipei and the People's Republic of China will co-host a "Workshop on Large-Scale Disaster Recovery in APEC" that will include a visit to the site of the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan Province. (September 22 - 25 in Taipei and Taichung, and September 26 - 28 in Sichuan Province).

The devastation of China's central province and the long-term socio-economic effects of the earthquake served as an impetus for the two economies to collaborate in sharing their own experiences with other APEC member economies. The joint effort was announced on the third day of the CEO Seminar (12 - 14 August), hosted by APEC's Task Force for Emergency Preparedness (TFEP).

Chinese Taipei initiated the idea to host the workshop after having earlier sent teams from Taipei to assist in the recovery effort immediately following the massive earthquake in China.

"We experienced the Chi Chi earthquake nine years earlier and so we have experience in disaster recovery," explains Dr. Wei-Sen Li, Deputy Executive Secretary at the National Science and Technology Centre for Disaster Reduction in Chinese Taipei.

Within two months, the two economies had established plans to host the workshop for other APEC members. Says Li, "The main theme is recovery - not just about recovering possessions but recovering lives. In just a few seconds, society had completely changed. Tens of thousands of people had died."

According to his counterpart, Wang Zenyao, Director General, National Disaster Reduction Centre in China:

"After the earthquake, we invited teams of international experts and adjusted our policies. This is a good model for other APEC economies. It is the sort of knowledge sharing that will enable other economies to quickly recover from future disasters. And we consider it a first step."

The workshop will explore the idea of private-public partnership and ways of preserving and rehabilitating family units following a disaster. It will include visits to the sites of the Chi-Chi earthquake in central Chinese Taipei and earthquake-affected areas in Sichuan.

This is not regarded as a form of emergency relief. Rather, say organizers, it is to build capacity and impart critical knowledge to governments before it is needed. "It's important to learn from disasters and avoid the same mistakes" says Dr. Li. "Knowledge is the best disaster protection there is."

The APEC Task Force for Emergency Preparedness seeks to build community and business resilience and preparedness for emergencies and natural disasters in the Asia Pacific region.