This is CBS I on the world. I'm John Bachelet.

Taiwan. People still trapped in rubble as death toll rises.

Taiwan, earthquake shakes man and rooftop pool. Taiwan video Taiwan, 7.4 magnitude quake hits Taiwan,

strongest in 25 years.

Gordon Chang, at Gordon G. Chang is with me.

I'm John Bachelor, and we're very pleased to speak to Steve Yates.

Steve is long experience in Taiwan matters, even Taiwan earthquake matters. So the timing of this earthquake is propitious in that we're on the eve of a

transfer of power in Taiwan to the new president in May. We're also at a moment when the threats from

time from the mainland have increased yet again and we reflect on earthquakes and meteors, asteroids, eclipses of the sun, all

those things can be understood as Harbangers.

Steve, a very good evening to you. Thank you very much for this.

An earthquake in Taiwan, this is the ring of fire, all of Asia. There was an earthquake and tsunami risk in Japan just the other day and it's routine for people who live there.

However, I read that this earthquake, the largest in 25 years, had an epicenter off the eastern shore of Taiwan.

Your experience of the Taiwanese, are they rugged in earthquakes?

Are they well experienced? Good evening to you Steve.

Well good evening John I think there's a lot of good news in this tragedy in the

sense that there has been a lot of work done in Taiwan with modern

engineering and making things as safe as they can be. Of course this was a

significant shake and so there will be damage to some infrastructure

tunnels and other areas like that but given the magnitude of it it's actually

somewhat good news that the initial reports of casualties and

disruption are on the relatively low side of it. I wouldn't want to minimize

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