Hualien prosecutors have launched a probe into possible negligence in the construction of four buildings that collapsed or tilted during an earthquake that struck the city late on Tuesday, killing at least seven people and injuring 260.
Hualien Chief Prosecutor Huang Ho-chun (黃和村) has instructed officials to obtain the buildings’ blueprints, documents and data files submitted by construction companies to the Hualien County Government for the initial phase of the investigation.
The probe is to focus on the Marshal Hotel (統帥大飯店), the Yun Men Tsui Ti (雲門翠堤大樓) commercial and residential complex and two partially collapsed residential buildings on Hualien’s Guosheng 6th street, where the efforts to find survivors have concentrated.
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
“After the rescue efforts are completed, we will subpoena the constructors, the architects and the contractors [involved in the construction of the four buildings] for questioning,” Huang said.
Prosecutors would conduct a thorough investigation to determine if there was negligence or infractions — such as taking shortcuts during construction, using inferior building materials or failing to comply with construction regulations or acquire government approval — that might have led to the buildings’ collapse, Huang said.
Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office Chief Prosecutor Wang Tien-sheng (王添盛) said he contacted Huang to provide assistance in gathering evidence at the four buildings as part of the initial phase of investigation, adding that prosecutors in nearby districts can be dispatched to Hualien to join the investigation.
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
Taipei prosecutors also announced that they would provide support in technical and legal issues.
“In our Taipei office, we have 11 prosecutors with professional background and expertise in civil engineering and construction. They have been put on alert and will be dispatched to Hualien to provide support for the investigation into possible negligence and the legal responsibilities regarding the buildings’ collapse,” Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office spokesman Chou Shih-yu (周士榆) said.
Tai Yun-fa (戴雲發), head of a construction safety association, said the Yun Men Tsui Ti and the hotel were susceptible to earthquake damage because they had too few reinforced pillars at the lower levels, causing them to be “heavy at the top, but weak at the bottom.”
The original designs for the two buildings were likely flawed in terms of pillar support at lower levels and were not designed to resist a strong earthquake, as they were built before 1999, when a more comprehensive and strict building code came into effect, and no reinforcements had been made since, Tai said.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
RSS