Families and friends of the victims of the gas pipeline explosions in Greater Kaohsiung yesterday vented their anger at LCY Chemical Corp chairman Bowei Lee (李謀偉) when he showed up at the funeral rites for those who died in the incident last week.
Lee was jostled and shouted at by people at the funeral parlor, and one man dumped a cup of tea on the back of Lee’s head as he was answering questions from reporters.
The man was later identified as a father whose son was among the 30 who died in the disaster on Thursday and Friday last week.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
Lee bowed his head to apologize and promised his company would make good on financial compensation for the victims.
He also knelt on the ground to honor the deceased.
That did not appease the anger of the bereaved, with some crying out for the return of the lives of their loved ones.
“Give me back my father,” one person shouted, while another yelled: “I want my mother back.”
“You are responsible for killing my son,” one cried, while others hurled epithets such as “crook” and “garbage” at Lee.
It has been one week since the disaster occurred, and yesterday was touqi (頭七), the seventh day after death, when funeral rites for the deceased are conducted, according to Taiwanese folk tradition.
The event was held at the Kaohsiung municipal mortuary.
Some family members were distraught at the slow pace of the inquiry into the incident.
“It has been seven days now, and we still do not know who is responsible for the loss of lives,” one victim’s relative said.
Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), Minister Without Portfolio Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興), Vice Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) attended the rites.
Meanwhile, rescue work had to be temporarily suspended yesterday morning because of heavy rain. Water collected in roads that had caved in after the explosions, turning the 4km stretch of the disaster-hit streets of Cianjhen District (前鎮) into a stream.
The rain also affected the funeral rites, as the canvas put up to serve as a canopy leaked, turning the floor wet and slippery. City officials had to dispatch workers to place cardboards on the floor for people to walk on while conducting funeral rites.
The Centers for Disease Control said the gas pipeline explosions have badly damaged the area’s drainage system and created many water-ditches.
As more rainfall is forecast in the coming days, the centers warned that water drainage problem would put the city at a higher risk of dengue fever.
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
Residents have called on the Taipei City Government to reconsider its plan to demolish a four-decades-old pedestrian overpass near Daan Forest Park. The 42-year-old concrete and steel structure that serves as an elevated walkway over the intersection of Heping and Xinsheng roads is to be closed on Tuesday in preparation for demolition slated for completion by the end of the month. However, in recent days some local residents have been protesting the planned destruction of the intersection overpass that is rendered more poetically as “sky bridge” in Chinese. “This bridge carries the community’s collective memory,” said a man surnamed Chuang
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei