About 200 Kaohsiung residents yesterday rallied in front of the Ministry of Economic Affairs headquarters in Taipei, demanding the removal of underground oil tanks and pipelines and the termination of Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower) tunneling operations in Kaohsiung’s Siaogang District (小港), which they said is atop an active fault line.
The protest was sparked by the collapse of Zhonglin and Sincuo roads and the Daliao junction of the Expressway No. 88, which protesters said were caused by construction work last month.
Protesters said sections of Zhonglin Road were continuing to crumble even though a large amount of soil was being refilled at the site.
Photo: Chen Wei-han, Taipie Times
Taiwan Water Resources Protection Union spokesperson Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) said that the collapse might be related to the activity of the Chishan Fault, and residents have feared that underground oil tanks could explode in the event of a large earthquake.
Fight for Health Women’s Group Kaohsiung Chapter director Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀菊) said the ministry should conduct and publish a thorough seismological survey of the area before Taipower is allowed to continue with its operations.
Should the fault systems be determined as active, the ministry should remove oil refinery facilities and prohibit any large developments, Hung said.
Meanwhile, protesters said that the site of a proposed industrial waste landfill at the foot of Matou Mountain (馬頭山) in Kaohisung’s Cishan (旗山) and Neimen (內門) districts is between two fault lines, and construction activity might cause sewage to seep into the groundwater system that converges at the Gaoping River (高屏溪), which is the main source of the city’s water supply.
The ministry said that it would instruct the Central Geological Survey to conduct a comprehensive geological survey of the areas to assess possible risks, while Taipower said it carried out foundation underpinning at the collapsed sites.
Later yesterday, protesters staged another demonstration at the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) headquarters, saying that Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) was perfunctory in dealing with Taipower’s flawed management because she was too involved in election campaigning.
Protesters demanded Chen reject the landfill proposal, saying that former Kaohsiung County commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興) had done the same.
Taipower said that the Chishan Fault could not affect construction at Siaogang, and that the collapses were due to a mechanical failure that caused groundwater to seep into the construction site and affect the roads.
It said it had conducted pre-construction geological surveys, while underground oil tanks and pipelines were earthquake resistant and constructed in accordance with regulations.
However, an oil leak was reported at Zhonglin Road yesterday afternoon due to a flawed backfilling operation, the Kaohsiung Environmental Protection Bureau said, adding that about 300 tonnes of oil was spilled and that it had requested Taipower drain the spill and remove any contaminated soil.
A tropical depression in waters east of the Philippines could develop into a tropical storm as soon as today and bring rainfall as it approaches, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, while issuing heat warnings for 14 cities and counties. Weather model simulations show that there are still considerable differences in the path that the tropical depression is projected to take. It might pass through the Bashi Channel to the South China Sea or turn northeast and move toward the sea south of Japan, CWA forecaster Yeh Chih-chun (葉致均) said, adding that the uncertainty of its movement is still high,
TAIWANESE INNOVATION: The ‘Seawool’ fabric generates about NT$200m a year, with the bulk of it sourced by clothing brands operating in Europe and the US Growing up on Taiwan’s west coast where mollusk farming is popular, Eddie Wang saw discarded oyster shells transformed from waste to function — a memory that inspired him to create a unique and environmentally friendly fabric called “Seawool.” Wang remembered that residents of his seaside hometown of Yunlin County used discarded oyster shells that littered the streets during the harvest as insulation for their homes. “They burned the shells and painted the residue on the walls. The houses then became warm in the winter and cool in the summer,” the 42-year-old said at his factory in Tainan. “So I was
THE TOUR: Pope Francis has gone on a 12-day visit to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. He was also invited to Taiwan The government yesterday welcomed Pope Francis to the Asia-Pacific region and said it would continue extending an invitation for him to visit Taiwan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the remarks as Pope Francis began a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific on Monday. He is to travel about 33,000km by air to visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore, and would arrive back in Rome on Friday next week. It would be the longest and most challenging trip of Francis’ 11-year papacy. The 87-year-old has had health issues over the past few years and now uses a wheelchair. The ministry said
Discounted 72-hour Taipei Metro passes are to be offered to China Airlines passengers until Feb. 28 next year, the airline announced today. China Airlines passengers may present their boarding pass for a discount of up to 34 percent when buying a Taipei Metro 72-hour unlimited travel pass. The offer is available to international travelers on international flights bound for Taipei. Within seven days of arrival, travelers can present their boarding pass, passport and proof of flight payment at an EZfly counter in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport or Taoyuan MRT Taipei Main Station to obtain the discounted passes, the airline said. One 72-hour pass
RSS