China has always been working with its Taiwan province in disaster management to better safeguard the life and property of both sides. On August 20, 2019, after Super Typhoon Lekima hit mainland China, a Taiwan University delegation led by Professor LI Hongyuan visited IWHR and exchanged views on disaster prevention and mitigation, construction of sponge cities, technical training, etc. with IWHR experts.

Group photo

IWHR President Dr. KUANG Shangfu warmly welcomed the Taiwan delegation. Looking back on the close cooperation between the two sides, he spoke highly of the achievements Professor LI Hongyuan has made in disaster prevention, sponge cities and integrated management of water resources. He hoped that Professor LI could share the rich experience in water management Taiwan has gained and the two sides could work together on the improvement of the disaster prevention and mitigation systems.

Professor LI thanked IWHR’s reception and introduced Taiwan’s progress in disaster prevention and mitigation these years. Looking at the disasters Lekima caused after it swept over Zhejiang province, he would like to share with mainland colleagues Taiwan’s experience in defense of typhoon and mitigation of flood and geological disasters. He also expressed his expectation for a deeper collaboration with IWHR.

Professor LI Hongyuan at the Global Vision Forum

After the meeting, Professor LI gave his speech titled Construction and Challenges of the Disaster Response and Management Structure. Drawing on detailed cases and data, he introduced the basic principle of disaster prevention as well as the four steps – disaster mitigation, recondition, response and recovery. He believed it’s important to strengthen pre-disaster preparation and weapon citizens with the awareness of helping themselves and each other, and that would receive better results than simply providing aid after disasters happen. He emphasized that disaster prevention requires whole-society participation as well as cooperation of various sections integrating their strength in different areas.

Participants had a lively discussion on drafting of disaster prevention plans, implementation of risk management, water saving and drought resistance, dissemination and popularization of related knowledge, and other topics of interest.