The leaders of five Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-controlled cities and counties yesterday said they are each donating one month’s income to the reconstruction efforts in the wake of a series of gas pipeline explosions that ripped through Greater Kaohsiung on Thursday night and on Friday morning last week, killing 28 people and injuring more than 300.
In a joint statement, Pingtung County Commissioner Tsao Chi-hung (曹啟鴻), Greater Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德), Chiayi County Commissioner Helen Chang (張花冠), Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) and Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢) pledged to give a month’s pay each to the recovery efforts and urged others to contribute to help affected residents resume their normal lives as quickly as possible.
The city and county leaders again expressed their condolences to the injured and the families of the people killed and urged the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-controlled central government to offer full support to Greater Kaohsiung.
They also said that they are confident that the reconstruction of the city will proceed smoothly under the leadership of Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), who is also a DPP member.
A total of 83,819 people in 32,968 households have been affected by the explosions that hit the Cianjhen (前鎮) and Lingya (苓雅) districts, according to figures compiled by the Central Emergency Operation Center.
As of yesterday, 28 people were confirmed dead, 305 injured and two missing after the explosions.
The blasts are believed to have been caused by a propene leak in an underground pipeline used by a petrochemical manufacturer.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
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