President Ma Ying-jeou presided over a press conference on the morning of March 18 to explain plans, adopted by the government during a second meeting by high ranking officials, for response to the recent disasters in Japan. During the conference the president took the opportunity to urge the public here to remain calm.
The president remarked that the March 11 earthquake in Japan triggered a multi-pronged disaster, and that government agencies acting on their own cannot respond adequately to such situations. Rather, they must coordinate, divide work, and cooperate in dealing with breaking events. Even though Taiwan has not yet been harmed directly, we must still be prepared for all possibilities, the president said. We should use this experience as an opportunity to examine our preparedness and rescue measures, and hold large-scale drills to expose shortcomings and take measures to address them.
President Ma stated that beginning from March 17, the government is now holding a national security-level meeting of central government agencies at 7 a.m. each morning at the Presidential Office Building, primarily to coordinate among agencies and enable each agency to understand what the others are doing. At today's meeting, which was the second one, each attending agency put forward proposed response measures and the National Security Council then integrated the proposals into a master plan. Participants then examined the plan with the objective of quickly reaching a consensus.
The president noted that there is much public concern, and even some panic, over the situation. He urged calm, noting that the impact of the disaster on Taiwan to this point has been very limited. We will remain vigilant, but there is no need for alarm, he said, and explained that agencies will keep the public regularly and fully informed of the situation so that, in the unlikely event of an emergency, people will know how to respond. President Ma also instructed officials to address doubts by patiently explaining the situation. Officials need to control their emotions and tell the public in detail what the government is able to do for the people, what it has already done, and what more it can do, the president said.
President Ma commented that the government already has a three-tier comprehensive response plan in place for addressing issues outside our borders, managing our borders, and responding within our borders. The key is to help everyone understand that even though we have not been directly impacted by the disaster, we are still concerned about the situation in Japan. In addition to providing aid, we ourselves must have clear objectives, a methodical approach, and an ability to act, so that the public will sense that the government has made preparations.
The president stated that we must recognize our lack of experience in handling this type of multi-pronged disaster. We must therefore learn and improve, and do a good job of studying and implementing preparedness and rescue arrangements. As for concerns about the safety of nuclear power, President Ma acknowledged the need for a thorough examination of nuclear power generation, but added that the most important issue at this stage is to boost the ability of existing plants to withstand earthquakes and other calamities. He further acknowledged there is room for discussion as to whether the first, second, and third nuclear power plants should be granted service life extensions, and whether any changes should be made to plans for the fourth nuclear power plant currently under construction. Prior to any decision, however, present policies must remain in place to prevent panic among the public, he said.
Discussions during the second meeting focused on the three-tier response plan, namely "addressing issues outside our borders," "managing our borders," and "responding within our borders." In all, the meeting produced 11 response measures and action plans.