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18 19 OPENING LINES TAIWANSUPPORTSTWOSIGNIFICANTPROJECTS INST. KITTS-NEVIS T hegovernmentofTaiwan,through itsembassy inBasseterre,recentlypresentedtwochecks to thegovernmentof St.KittsandNevis to facili- tate thecompletionof twosignificantprojects intheFederation: theconstructionof anewhealthcentre andthecompletionofphaseoneof thecitiesandroad- ways surveillancesystemCCTVproject. US$1millionwill gotowards theconstructionof the newhealthfacility,whileclosetoUS$70,000wasfurther injectedintophaseoneoftheCCTVproject,inwhichthe TaiwangovernmentmadeaninitialinvestmentofEC$5 millioninDecember2016.PhaseonecoverstheBasseterre area,FrigateBayanditsenvirons. SubsequentphasesoftheCCTV projectwillcoverareasthrough- outbothStKittsandNevis. TheTabernacleHealthCentre, whichnowoperatesoutofthe samefacilitythathousesthe TabernacleDaycareCentre,was relocatedafterthebuilding inwhichitwaslocatedwas deemedunfitforuse. Inherremarks,MinisterofStatewithintheMinistryof Health,SenatorWendyPhipps,saidtheconstructionofa brandnewfacilityinTabernaclewillgreatlyenhancethe deliveryofprimaryhealthcareservicesintheFederation.“The governmenthasdecidedtoinvestmoreheavilyinthecom- munity-basedprimaryhealthcareapproachesinSt.Kittsand Nevisinordertosavelivesandreversenegativeoutcomes thatwouldotherwisehaveledtodetrimentintermsofour greatestresource,whichisourpeople.Assuch,thebuild-out andconstructionof anewTabernacleHealthCentre isa major investment inthatdirection,”Phipps said. PermanentSecretaryintheMinistryofNational Security, OsmondPetty,gaveanupdateontheCCTVproject,stat- ingthat therearestill about100cameras tobe installed intheBasseterrearea.Todate,over200camerashave beenbroughtonstreamunderphaseoneof theproject. VIVOTEK,a leadingglobal brand inthesecurityindustry,is responsible for the installationof theCCTVcameras inthe Federation. Taiwan’s residentAmbassador toSt.KittsandNevis, GeorgeGowWei Chiou,saidhisgovernment identifies withtheadministration’smandateof improvingthe healthandoverall safetyandsecurityof itscitizensand residentsand,as such,willinglypartnerswiththeFedera- tion inthis regard. “Thepeople inSt.KittsandNevishaveaverystrong expectationoftheirsecurity andthegovernmentofTai- wanwouldliketocooperate, onceagain,topromoteandto strengthenthesecurityinSt.Kitts andNevis,”theAmbassadorsaid. PrimeMinisterDr.Timothy Harrisjoinedtheotherofficialsin expressinggratitudetoTaiwan foritssupporttotheFederation, particularlyintheareasofhealthandnationalsecurity. AsitrelatesspecificallytotheCCTVproject,Harrisnoted, “Wehavenowalmostcompletedphaseone[andweare now]lookingtoabettertomorrowinmovingtotheother [crime]hotspotsinthecountry–inCayon,inSandyPoint,inSt Paul’s–toensurethatanadditionaldeterrentcanbeprovid- edtoaddtothepeaceinthosecommunities.” Earlier thisyear,sixpersons fromtheRoyalStChristopher andNevisPoliceForcereceivedextensivetraininginareal worldenvironmentontheeffectiveandefficientuseofCCTV attheTaipeiCityPoliceDepartment’sCCTVCentreinTaiwan. OnDecember2,2016,HarrisandChiousignedabilateral agreementonpolicecooperation,providingforlawenforce- mentpersonnelexchange,toincludeatechnicalcomponent andstudyopportunitiesinTaiwan.