The Executive Yuan is considering a proposal to set up a special zone for petrochemical companies in Greater Kaohsiung in the wake of the deadly gas pipeline explosions that rocked the city on July 31 and Aug. 1, an official confirmed yesterday.
Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) is to meet with Ministry of Economic Affairs officials next week to discuss the issue, Cabinet spokesman Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) said.
While confirming that the premier was briefed on the proposal earlier this week, Sun said there has been no decision on whether to adopt the plan.
According to a story in the Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday, the plan involves relocating existing petrochemical complexes in Greater Kaohsiung to a place in the port area to avoid having underground pipelines runnign through the city’s residential areas.
Under the plan, the government would reclaim 400 hectares in the waters off the city’s Siaogang District (小港) to build a special zone for petrochemical plants, which are currently scattered around the city.
The project would cost an estimated NT$50 billion (US$1.67 billion) and is likely to be completed in 2017, the paper said.
The petrochemical industry in the city has been under scrutiny after last month’s deadly explosions, which are believed to have been caused by a propylene leak in an underground pipeline owned by LCY Chemical Corp (李長榮化學).
With an annual output of more than NT$900 billion (US$30 billion), the petrochemical industry accounts for nearly a quarter of the city’s industrial output, government data show.
More than 200,000 of the city’s 2.77 million residents are directly or indirectly employed in the petrochemical industry.
However, the government’s plan to set up a new industrial zone for petrochemical companies is likely to face stiff opposition in Siaogang.
Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) yesterday said any plan to build a special petrochemical zone needs to be discussed with the city’s residents.
The top priority at present is to ensure safety in existing pipelines owned by the many petrochemical companies in the city, she said.
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
RSS