Mainland, Taiwan to enhance cooperation in disaster response
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The Chinese mainland on Wednesday said it would work with Taiwan to enhance cooperation in disaster response after 20 mainland tourists died in landslides on the island last month.
"We hope the two sides will normalize mutual assistance and guarantee mechanisms for early warning and emergency handling of disasters," Fan Liqing, spokeswoman with the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, told a regular press conference.
This would better ensure the safety of cross-Strait people-to-people exchanges, Fan said.
She called on both sides to draw lessons from the landslide triggered by Typhoon Megi that left more than 20 people dead on Oct. 21 on Taiwan's eastern coastal Suao-Hualien Highway.
The three people confirmed dead included one mainland tourist named Gong Yan. Another 23 were reported missing, including 19 mainland tourists whose relatives received death certificates for their loved ones on Nov.3.
The relatives of the deceased had returned home after more than 10 days on the island.
During the fourth round of talks between Chinese mainland and Taiwan negotiators in December last year, the two sides agreed to cooperate in sharing forecast, early warning and monitoring information on natural disasters.
Fan hoped the mainland and Taiwan would further promote cooperation in disaster response efforts based on last year's agreement.
