Senior Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members yesterday spoke out against what they termed the “uncaring, cold-hearted” attitude of Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) in the aftermath of last week’s gas pipeline explosions.
DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) urged the central government to work with the Greater Kaohsiung government on relief efforts, adding that financial aid should not be based on party affiliations.
“This disaster was not an accident, but was due to the government’s long-term planning being focused on economic development and a lack of consideration for environment sustainability and public safety,” Tsai said at a meeting of the DPP Central Standing Committee. “The central government is responsible for the guidance, supervision and management of these policies. They should not shift the responsibility onto the local government and Kaohsiung residents.”
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
Tsai comments referred to Jiang’s announcement on Monday that there was no need for a special provision bill, special budget allocation or a dedicated agency to handle reconstruction efforts.
Former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), who served as mayor of what was then Kaohsiung City from 1998 to 2005, told the committee meeting that many public officials, including himself, have to bear some responsibility for the disaster.
“I feel bad that during my term as Kaohsiung mayor I did not know about these underground pipelines,” he said. “Pipelines should not pass through residential areas. CPC Corp, Taiwan originally installed them, but later they transferred their use to other petrochemical companies. The process involved various legal issues and responsibilities, but government did not uncover these at the time. Thus, morally and politically, many public officials bear responsibility for what happened.”
“Now we have this major disaster, people felt insecure and in fear of their safety. For Jiang to speak so negatively, people feel very disappointed. The public sees that Jiang is evading the government’s responsibility,” Hsieh said.
From Jiang’s pronouncement to a statement by the Ministry of Economic Affairs that “there is no law on regulation of petrochemical pipelines,” Hsieh said that administration officials are playing with words and legal ambiguities, but it is not what the public wants to hear.
“These officials should bear responsibility and be proactive to solve problems. They should not use their own notions and knowledge to refuse people by playing word games,” Hsieh said.
From Jiang’s pronouncement to a statement by the Ministry of Economic Affairs that “there is no law on regulation of petrochemical pipelines,” Hsieh said that administration officials are playing with words and legal ambiguities, but it is not what the public wants to hear.
“These officials should bear responsibility and be proactive to solve problems. They should not use their own notions and knowledge to refuse people by playing word games,” Hsieh said.
This story has been amended since it was first published.
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