Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) came under fire yesterday at a meeting of the legislative Internal Administration Committee over the explosion of illegally stored firecrackers and fireworks in Wugu District (五股), New Taipei City (新北市), on Friday.
“More than 90 percent of fireworks and firecrackers sold in Taiwan are imported, so there’s no way you cannot track it,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Jen-chu (黃仁杼) said to Jiang during a question-and-answer session at the meeting. “If you fail to follow the whereabouts of imported fireworks and firecrackers, then you’ve committed a very serious administrative error.”
According to what is known of the explosion, the fireworks and firecrackers exploded as they were unloaded from a truck to be put in a warehouse in Wugu.
The warehouse was illegal because a warehouse for explosives can only be built in an area far from residential or commercial areas, and should be pre-approved. In addition, transportation of explosives it must be pre-approved as well.
LOSING TRACK
Jiang said that while all imported items are well documented at the port of arrival, the ministry — which is in charge of public security — loses track of the items afterwards.
“We’re investigating it now,” Jiang said.
Jiang’s response did not satisfy the lawmakers.
Another DPP legislator, Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩), also lashed out at Jiang over the issue.
She said that according to official statistics, more than 11,000 tonnes of firecrackers and fireworks were imported into the country last year.
“How many times have you inspected warehouses holding these explosives?” she asked.
When National Fire Agency Director-General Yeh Chi-lung (葉吉龍) replied “427 times,” Chiu became upset.
“This shows that you are just too careless about public security,” she said.
GAS CYLINDERS
In addition to the fireworks and firecrackers issue, lawmakers — including Huang and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) — also asked about gas cylinders.
“I was stunned when I read in the fire safety regulations that gas cylinders in use for more than 40 years should be inspected once every six months,” Wu said. “Why do we even keep gas cylinders that are older than many people in this room?”
He said that even in China, where fire safety regulations are not as strict as in Taiwan, gas cylinders can only be in use for up to 15 years.
“We are more backwards than China on this issue,” he said.
“Most liquid gas cylinder stores are in residential areas. I cannot imagine how terrible the disaster would be if something happened to these old cylinders,” Wu said.
Jiang agreed with Wu, and promised that the ministry would call a meeting with representatives from local governments to come to an agreement about a time limit for the use of gas cylinders.
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