One day after a massive fire in the Eastern Science Park was finally extinguished, Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
"Any compensation will be granted in accordance with the National Compensation Law (國賠法). But [if an investigation report finds no fault on the part of the government,] the government will not pay for anything," Chang said.
Chang added that the government would fulfill all its responsibilities and conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the fire in Hsichih, Taipei County.
Taipei County Commissioner Su Tseng-chang (
Su also said that the Taipei County Government would assist companies in applying for state compensation if necessary. He added that he had canceled plans to accompany President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) on his visit to Central and South America later this month.
Ministry of Justice officials, however, yesterday said that they were not optimistic that companies would be eligible for government compensation since the blaze had escalated due to poor judgement on the part of firefighters at most, but not to any deliberate intention on their part.
Control Yuan members Chao Chang-pin (
"The fire has had a great negative impact on the domestic economy, so it shouldn't be ignored," Chao said.
Both are expected to make an inspection tour of the Hsichih site this afternoon.
On Sunday the Cabinet organized a task force, headed by Minister Without Portfolio Chen Chin-huang (
The fire department's handling of the fire drew severe criticism from opposition lawmakers yesterday.
"The fire would not have lasted for 43 hours if the Cabinet had started to coordinate the rescue work earlier in the first place," said KMT Legislator Lo Ming-tsai (羅明才).
Another lawmaker, Tsai Chia-fu (蔡家福), said, "The 43-hour-long blaze has set a world record. The Cabinet and Taipei County Government should fully review their rescue mechanisms and shoulder all responsibility."
Lo added, "At the least Interior Minister Chang Po-ya (
Both Lo and Tsai represent Taipei County.
The People First Party's (PFP) legislative caucus yesterday urged the Cabinet to strengthen the government's emergency measures for high-rise buildings over 15 stories.
"Inability to deal with fires occurring in buildings higher than 15 stories has been a common problem in Taiwan. [The government] should regularly carry out inspections of such buildings' automatic sprinkler systems," said PFP legislator Hwang Yih-jiau (黃義交) at a press conference yesterday.
Hwang added that the shortage of ladder trucks and aerial fire extinguisher systems should also be addressed.
Objecting to the criticism, DPP legislative whip Chou Po-lun (周伯倫) yesterday asked the Cabinet to produce a thorough report on the investigation within two weeks, before any government agencies were held responsible.
"An investigative committee should be set up to clarify areas of responsibilities within two weeks. Any criminal, administrative and political responsibility should be addressed. Before that, it's not right to ask any government officials to step down," Chou said.
Vice President Annette Lu (
She said she disagreed with Lo's comparison of the fire to the Pachang Creek (
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