The Taiwan Railways Administration’s (TRA) internal review of Sunday’s the deadly train derailment is “full of lies,” the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus said yesterday, demanding that Minister of Transportation and Communications Wu Hung-mo (吳宏謀) step down.
TRA Director-General Jason Lu (鹿潔身) has lied about the extent of the most recent scheduled maintenance of the derailed train, while the agency’s account of the train’s functioning was also at odds with leaked communication records between the driver, surnamed Yu (尤), and the TRA’s dispatch and distribution office, KMT caucus whip Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
The discrepancies between the accounts given by the Executive Yuan’s investigative task force for the accident and by the TRA represent a “slap in Wu’s face,” and the minister, who tendered his resignation to Premier William Lai (賴清德) on Sunday, should not have accepted Lai’s request that he stay in his post, Chiang said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The agency’s remarks — including that Yu did not inform dispatch that he had shut down the automatic train protection system (ATP) — implied that the accident was caused solely by human error, which would impose considerable mental stress on TRA’s entry-level employees, he said.
The Taiwan Railways Labor Union, citing leaked communication records, on Wednesday showed not only that You informed dispatch about disabling the ATP, but also that the office copied that information.
Puyuma Express trains are imported from Japan, but the 15-member task force includes no Japanese or international experts, Chiang said, adding that this, compounded by the task force being led by Minister Without Portfolio Wu Tze-cheng (吳澤成), raises questions about the impartiality and factuality of any investigative report.
KMT caucus deputy secretary-general John Wu (吳志揚) said that the absence of legal experts or prosecutors on the task force suggests that the government believes “technical” problems might have caused the accident.
However, the implications of the incident could be much more profound, as corruption and political decisions might have contributed to the tragedy, he said.
The accident also highlighted problems with the TRA’s management, as the dispatchers allegedly instructed You to continue driving in an attempt to remain on schedule, even though the train’s mechanical problem signs were triggered 43 minutes before the accident occurred, he said.
Citing media reports, KMT caucus secretary-general William Tseng (曾銘宗) said that You was in February arrested for using amphetamine and had been driving for the TRA under a deferred prosecution agreement.
He criticized the TRA as irresponsible for hiring a driver who had used amphetamine, which he said might have led to the accident.
Meanwhile, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka said that You was arrested for amphetamine use in December last year and was given a deferred prosecution verdict in February.
Urine and hair analyses showed that Yu had not used illegal drugs in the two months prior to the incident, she said.
Yu gave authorities hair and urine samples after the derailment, with an analysis to be released soon, she said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
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