(Military News Agency reporter, Liu De-Qing, Taipei, February 14th) The Ministry of National Defense expressed today that to support the restoration works following the devastation of the earthquake in Tainan and to ensure the hygiene of residential environment of the people, the military will be sending 12 groups, each comprising of 36 officers and soldiers, from the 39th Chemical Warfare Group to assist in the disinfection operations of the collapsed Wei-Guan Kinlung buildings and the surrounding areas. The disinfection operation will cover a total of 46,500 square meters.

  The Ministry of National Defense stated that following the Meinung earthquake at 3:57 a.m. on February 6th, the Ministry immediately established the “Disaster Response Center” at 4:15 a.m. and the 4th Combat Zone set up a Forward Command Post on Yong-Da Road, Tainan City at 4:56 a.m. The military has devoted wholeheartedly to the relief missions, and as of today, a total of 5,272 troops and over 1,156 vehicles, engineering and rescue equipment have been deployed to assist the Tainan city government in the rescue missions, emergency medical treatment, evacuation, traffic control and disinfection operations. The 4th Combat Zone will be returning to their original assignments after completing their equipment preparation by 7 p.m. tonight. In addition, the 54th Engineer Group has also provided support troops and 4 nighttime illumination vehicles to assist in the restoration projects of the roads in the disaster areas to enable the local residents to get their lives back to normal.

  The Ministry of National Defense stressed that in addition to the standing steadfast at their posts and conducting combat training, the military will also abide by the spirit of “Stand with the people through hardships and sicknesses”, demonstrate their tradition of love for the people and offer their assistance in times of crisis. The military has always done so in the past and will continue to do so in the future. The military shall stand together with the people to protect their homeland.