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
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
RSS