Taipei County, Nov. 9 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian Sunday paid his respects to and expressed his admiration for volunteer firefighters, who he described as "living bodhisattvas."
The volunteer firefighters' unselfishness and zeal for helping people in emergencies from which most humans would shy away, are enlightened enough to turn Taiwan into a "dynamic island of volunteers," Chen said.
He made the remarks during a brief speech at the opening of a review of the nation's professional firefighters, volunteer firefighters and rescue and relief volunteers, on the sidelines of a gala contest held at the Taipei County Stadium.
Chen also told his audience that the government has been strenuously building an airborne disaster relief force in efforts to upgrade Taiwan's relief and firefighting capabilities from ground operations to the more efficient three-dimensional operations.
The president was accompanied by Taipei County Chief Su Chen-chang and Minister of Interior Yu Cheng-hsien throughout the opening ceremony.
More than 4,000 firefighters and volunteers in 28 teams from around the island were reviewed during the ceremony, which was followed by a series of contests featuring bowling, tug of war, a relay with the racers carrying hoses on their backs, and a variety of other interesting competitions.