The National Fire Agency (NFA) yesterday vowed to reinforce the management of incense shops and publicize their locations to reassure the public after Friday’s deadly explosion in front of a New Taipei City (新北市) incense shop.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) told a press conference that the agency must investigate any irregularities in the manufacture, storage and delivery of fireworks and review its enforcement of the Firework and Firecracker Management Act (爆竹煙火管理條例).
KMT Legislator Justin Chou (周守訓) asked the agency to find all illegal fireworks storage sites in a week and to establish a notification mechanism so people can report possible irregularities to the police.
National Fire Agency Deputy Director-General Chen Wen-lung (陳文龍) said the agency would publicize fireworks manufacturing or storage sites nationwide, and encourage the public to report irregularities to their borough chiefs and local police precincts.
By law, fireworks should not be manufactured or stored in residential areas or mixed residential and commercial districts, Chen said.
There are three legal manufacturers of high-altitude fireworks in the country — two in Chiayi County and one in Miaoli County — which have a total of 33 storage facilities and 19 factories producing ordinary fireworks that are stored in 220 sites, Chen said.
Police are continuing their investigation into Friday’s blast in Wugu District (五股) that killed four people, including the incense shop’s owner, and injured 38. They are trying to determine if the shop owner, Chen Chiu-lung (陳邱隆), had ordered the fireworks, or whether a Taoyuan County fireworks firm had asked him to store the fireworks to evade inspections.
The owner of the 40-year-old fireworks company, surnamed Cheng (鄭), was released on NT$50,000 bail after being questioned by New Taipei City prosecutors.
Police said Cheng and Chen Chiu-lung were close friends and that Chen Chiu-lung would often be asked to help when Cheng’s company landed major contracts, such as setting up fireworks displays for Double Ten National Day or the Taipei International Flora Expo.
Police said the company was told to cease operations following a blast earlier this month, but it still had a large stockpile of fireworks.
Cheng said that he received a call from Chen Chiu-lung last Friday saying he needed fireworks for a big event and so his company agreed to supply them. However, Chen Chiu-lung’s brother said he overheard the conversation and that Cheng had actually asked his brother to help transport and stockpile fireworks so Cheng’s firm could evade safety inspections.
The brother also said Chen Chiu-lung had rented a container in Taishan (泰山), New Taipei City, to store fireworks and had enough to handle an event without having to ask Cheng for more.
Additional reporting by CNA
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS