Environmental activists and dozens of Greater Kaohsiung residents yesterday rallied outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei to protest against Premier Jiang Yi-huah’s (江宜樺) remarks on Monday on the government’s plans to address the damage caused by the Greater Kaohsiung gas pipeline explosions and demanding that the premier and Minister of Economic Affairs Chang Chia-juch (張家祝) step down.
Citizen of the Earth executive director Lee Ken-cheng (李根政) told a press conference that the central government’s attitude toward people affected by the blasts shows that it has not reflected upon the mistakes caused by its flawed policies covering the petrochemical industry dating back to more than half a century ago.
Those failed policies were a major contributor to the accident, he said.
Photo: CNA
“The central government installed the underground pipelines. It has remained their governing authority throughout all these years, but when an accident happens, it shirks all its responsibilities,” he said.
The premier on Monday said there was no need for a special provision bill, financial assistance through a special budget allocation and a dedicated agency to administrate post-disaster relief and reconstruction for Kaohsiung.
On Tuesday he reiterated his opposition in response to requests for special action by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers, and said that the government would establish a 10-member panel of pipeline specialists and establish a national pipeline database instead.
“We are here to tell Jiang Yi-huah and Chang Chia-juch: Since you don’t want any responsibilities, we do not want you to take any, either. We want you to step down,” Lee said.
The group also demanded that the Executive Yuan allocate funds for Kaohsiung relief efforts and provide a credible timetable for its pledge to map the nation’s underground pipeline network.
However, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) told reporters yesterday that he had told DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) and other DPP legislators who had hoped to negotiate with Jiang about post-disaster plans that the central government would allocate funds to cover the city’s compensation and reconstruction costs.
Wang said that Jiang had told him that the impact of the pipeline explosions was as massive as the 921 Earthquake or Typhoon Morakot, so a special budget might not be necessary.
“The premier said the government would draw on its disaster reserve fund, secondary reserve fund for emergency purposes and general budget to fund the relief work,” Wang said.
Executive Yuan spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) said the Executive Yuan declined the DPP legislators’ requests to draft a special provision bill and set up a dedicated agency to monitor relief work because it believes existing laws and regulations are sufficient.
While the Executive Yuan plans to put together a panel of specialists to tackle pipeline-related issues and set up a database for pipeline networks, it would leave the decision of whether to archive and manage the pipelines to the panel, he said.
Meanwhile, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) reportedly told yesterday’s Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Central Standing Committee meeting that the disaster reserve fund allocated to Greater Kaohsiung this year totals about NT$1.94 billion (US$64.6 million), of which NT$190 million has been spent, leaving about NT$1.7 billion.
When reached for comment, Ker confirmed that Kaohsiung has a total of NT$1.7 billion in disaster reserve funds left, which will be used after plans are worked out by the city’s Department of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.
In related developments, National Sun Yat-sen University professor Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) accused the central government of having no compassion.
Greater Kaohsiung is an important city in terms of the nation’s economic development, and the central government is responsible for helping the public, Cheng said.
It should not attempt to evade its responsibility by saying it would not set up special laws, Cheng said.
The university is in Greater Kaohsiung.
Additional reporting by Chen Hui-ping and Jack Chung
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
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
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