Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) and Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) reached a consensus at a meeting yesterday on the establishment of a database that clearly lists underground pipelines carrying hazardous materials through the city’s densely populated districts, but added that the question of a special petrochemical zone — which the Executive Yuan has been said to be mulling — was not mentioned during the discussion.
The consensus between Chen and Jiang included plans for a digital database of all the city’s underground pipelines and improvements to equipment and the expertise of industry professionals, the mayor said.
Before the meeting, Chen thanked the nation and the central government for their strong support in the post-disaster cleanup and restoration work, while Jiang complimented the city government on its relief efforts.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Chen said the petrochemical industry and the pipelines conveying petrochemical materials have long been the city’s “small pathos.”
After the meeting, she said that while the pipelines should be moved from residential neighborhoods within a certain period of time, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said such work would require further discussion.
Executive Yuan spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) said that information about the city’s pipelines, including those said to be of national security concern, would be transparent and it would be up to the city government to decide whether the information should be open to the public.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
A halt to operations of the fifth naphtha cracker, as the government had promised when the plant was built, was also agreed upon.
“As it has nowhere to go, it will be closed down,” Sun said.
The topic of a special petrochemical zone upheld as a solution to the city’s concern about the petrochemical industry was not discussed during the meeting, as “at this stage we would like to concentrate on restoration,” Chen said.
When asked to comment on a proposed referendum — championed by the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) — on a special petrochemical zone for the city, Chen said it is “one option.”
TSU Legislator Yeh Chin-ling (葉津鈴) and two Kaohsiung city councilor candidates who will be running for office in districts where petrochemical activities are commonplace called for a referendum on a special petrochemical zone yesterday morning, protesting over Minister of Economic Affairs Woody Duh’s (杜紫軍) remarks intimating the absolute necessity of the petrochemical industry in the city as it “accounts for one-fourth of Kaohsiung’s GDP and is directly linked to 15,000 jobs.”
“What the city needs is a transformation from focusing on highly polluting, highly hazardous and highly energy-consuming industries to one benefiting from the cultural and travel industries,” Yeh said, adding that an airport capable of receiving 747 cargo planes is important.
Yeh and the councilors said they would launch a cross-party campaign to petition for a local referendum to be held with the year-end elections.
Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said Saturday that she would not be intimidated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), following reports that Chinese agents planned to ram her car during a visit to the Czech Republic last year. "I had a great visit to Prague & thank the Czech authorities for their hospitality & ensuring my safety," Hsiao said on social media platform X. "The CCP's unlawful activities will NOT intimidate me from voicing Taiwan's interests in the international community," she wrote. Hsiao visited the Czech Republic on March 18 last year as vice president-elect and met with Czech Senate leadership, including
There have been clear signs of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempts to interfere in the nationwide recall vote on July 26 in support of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators facing recall, an unnamed government official said, warning about possible further actions. The CCP is actively involved in Taiwanese politics, and interference in the recall vote is to be expected, with multiple Chinese state media and TAO attempts to discredit the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and undermine public support of their recall movement, the official said. This interference includes a smear campaign initiated this month by a pro-Beijing Hong Kong news outlet against
A week-long exhibition on modern Tibetan history and the Dalai Lama’s global advocacy opened yesterday in Taipei, featuring quotes and artworks highlighting human rights and China’s ongoing repression of Tibetans, Hong Kongers and Uighurs. The exhibition, the first organized by the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan (HRNTT), is titled “From the Snowy Ridges to the Ocean of Wisdom.” “It would be impossible for Tibetans inside Tibet to hold an exhibition like this — we can do it. because we live in a free and democratic country,” HRNTT secretary-general Tashi Tsering said. Tashi Tsering, a Taiwan-based Tibetan who has never
A first shipment of five tons of Taiwan tilapia was sent from Tainan to Singapore on Wednesday, following an order valued at NT$600,000 (US$20,500) placed with a company in the city. The products, including frozen whole fish and pre- cooked fish belly, were dispatched from Jiangjun Fishing Harbor, where a new aquatic processing and logistics center is under construction. At the launch, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) called the move a “breakthrough,” marking Taiwan’s expansion into the Singaporean tilapia market. Taiwan’s tilapia exports have traditionally focused on the United States, Canada, and the Middle East, Huang said, adding that the new foothold in
RSS