A coalition of labor and environmental groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei to demand that the government pass laws requiring factory owners to inform the government, fire departments and area residents of hazardous chemicals stored at their factories.
The protest began an hour after the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee began a meeting to review current policies on chemicals control and disaster prevention in the wake of last month’s fire at a Chin-Poon Industrial Co factory in Taoyuan that killed six firefighters and two Thai employees.
Representatives of the National Association for Firefighters’ Rights, the Migrants Empowerment Network in Taiwan (MENT), the Green Citizens’ Action Alliance and other groups called on the government to increase protection for firefighters, people living near chemical factories and the environment.
Photo: CNA
Last month’s fire took a heavy toll on the Taoyuan Fire Department because the firefighters were given limited information on the hazardous chemicals stored at the factory before going inside, association advisor Cheng Ya-ling (鄭雅菱) said.
“Although the Ministry of the Interior has promised to increase inspections of factory chemicals, it has not explained how it could possibly do so given that fire departments nationwide face a personnel shortage estimated to be at 50 percent,” she said.
The majority of firefighters are overworked, given 360 to 480 hours a month with a schedule of “a 24-hour shift every other day,” or “a 48-hour shift after every rest day,” she said.
“How could the government carry out more safety inspections without further overworking them, especially in areas with lots of factories such as Taoyuan and Hsinchu?” Cheng said.
Besides finding ways to improve factories’ management of their chemicals, the government should also require factory owners to inform fire departments of hazardous substances in their factories and their locations, as well as sending personnel to assist firefighters at the scene, she said.
“Factories should be fined if they fail to do any of the above and they should be subject to criminal penalties if a fire causes deaths,” Cheng added.
Fires at factories in the past several months have killed not only firefighters, but several migrant workers, MENT representative Wu Ching-ju (吳靜如) said.
Migrant workers should not be living in dormitories connected to factories, she said.
“Those forced to live at factory complexes continue to be exposed to dangers they face at work. This also increases the risks for firefighters, who must rescue those trapped in dormitories,” Wu said.
The government must work with local communities to establish detailed criteria for determining what information regarding public hazards factories should be required to give to nearby residents, including lists of hazardous substances stored at such facilities, Green Citizens’ Action Alliance deputy secretary-general Hung Shen-han (洪申翰) said.
Residents have the right to know and the Environmental Protection Administration’s Toxic and Chemical Substances Bureau should establish a mechanism to give the public access, he said.
“I hope the government can understand what firefighters, migrant workers and residents who live near factories really need,” National Association for Firefighters’ Rights secretary-general Chu Chih-yu (朱智宇) said.
“When government officials show up for the firefighters’ memorial service on Thursday, they should come with concrete plans for reforming chemical control regulations, not vague promises,” he said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by