Three senior Greater Taichung officials have offered to resign over a deadly nightclub blaze amid heavy criticism of the local administration’s safety inspections of the venue.
Greater Taichung Deputy Mayor Hsiao Chia-chi (蕭家旗), Economic Development Department chief Chu Hui-lan (朱蕙蘭) and Urban Development Department chief Huang Chong-dian (黃崇典) offered their verbal resignations on Sunday and written ones on Monday, Greater Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) said yesterday.
Hu said he would wait for the results of an investigation before deciding whether to accept the resignations.
Hu has been under mounting pressure to take political responsibility for the fire — the result of a fire-juggling act that went wrong.
The nightclub had passed 21 safety inspections over the past five years despite having flammable foam in its ceiling and walls and difficult-to-access emergency exits.
Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) rebutted remarks by the Greater Taichung Government that the ministry had approved nightclubs in residential areas.
As to why the Greater Taichung Government had allowed a nightclub to open in a residential area, Hsiao said the city government had asked the ministry to define the term “bar,” as the law prohibits bars in residential areas.
In its reply, the ministry said food and beverage establishments under a certain size could be opened in residential areas, but not bars.
However, the ministry said that “whether an establishment which sells alcoholic beverages is a food and beverage establishment [or an alcoholic beverage establishment] is for the city government to decide, based on relevant laws.”
“We interpreted the ministry’s reply as saying that it’s up to us to decide whether an establishment selling alcohol is the same as an establishment selling food,” Hsiao said. “Based on the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ definition, an ‘alcoholic beverage establishment’ is one with hostess service, while one selling alcoholic beverages without hostess service is a food and beverage establishment.”
Jiang said the city government had misinterpreted laws and the ministry’s response to its question two years ago.
“We ask local governments to define whether an establishment is a bar or a restaurant, because local governments have to make the decision based on the conditions of the establishment,” Jiang said. “Basically, an establishment that mainly sells food is a restaurant even if it also serves alcoholic beverages, but one that mainly sells alcohol is an alcoholic beverage establishment.”
The minister said the ALA nightclub “was more akin to a bar.”
Jiang said the ministry would amend the Fire Service Act (消防法) to prohibit performances using fire at bars, nightclubs, or restaurants, and conduct an inspection of all nightclubs and bars in the country, to see if they are officially registered as other establishments.
“We’ve learned a lesson from this tragic event and hope to take the opportunity to make changes to prevent similar tragedies in the future,” Jiang said.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said the resignations did not address the root cause of the problem.
“The resignations are no longer the major issue. The most important issue is whether Hu can give residents a clear explanation about … who was responsible,” DPP spokesperson Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said.
Lin said Hu owed an explanation Taichung residents as to how the tragedy occurred and whether it resulted from official negligence.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY VINCENT Y. CHAO
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS