The Executive Yuan is considering a proposal to set up a special zone for petrochemical companies in Greater Kaohsiung in the wake of the deadly gas pipeline explosions that rocked the city on July 31 and Aug. 1, an official confirmed yesterday.
Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) is to meet with Ministry of Economic Affairs officials next week to discuss the issue, Cabinet spokesman Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) said.
While confirming that the premier was briefed on the proposal earlier this week, Sun said there has been no decision on whether to adopt the plan.
According to a story in the Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday, the plan involves relocating existing petrochemical complexes in Greater Kaohsiung to a place in the port area to avoid having underground pipelines runnign through the city’s residential areas.
Under the plan, the government would reclaim 400 hectares in the waters off the city’s Siaogang District (小港) to build a special zone for petrochemical plants, which are currently scattered around the city.
The project would cost an estimated NT$50 billion (US$1.67 billion) and is likely to be completed in 2017, the paper said.
The petrochemical industry in the city has been under scrutiny after last month’s deadly explosions, which are believed to have been caused by a propylene leak in an underground pipeline owned by LCY Chemical Corp (李長榮化學).
With an annual output of more than NT$900 billion (US$30 billion), the petrochemical industry accounts for nearly a quarter of the city’s industrial output, government data show.
More than 200,000 of the city’s 2.77 million residents are directly or indirectly employed in the petrochemical industry.
However, the government’s plan to set up a new industrial zone for petrochemical companies is likely to face stiff opposition in Siaogang.
Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) yesterday said any plan to build a special petrochemical zone needs to be discussed with the city’s residents.
The top priority at present is to ensure safety in existing pipelines owned by the many petrochemical companies in the city, she said.
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
PERSONAL DATA: The implicated KMT members allegedly compiled their petitions by copying names from party lists without the consent of the people concerned Judicial authorities searched six locations yesterday and questioned six people, including one elderly Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) member and five KMT Youth League associates, about alleged signature forgery and fraud relating to their recall efforts against two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. After launching a probe into alleged signature forgery and related fraud in the KMT’s recall effort, prosecutors received a number of complaints, including about one petition that had 1,748 signatures of voters whose family members said they had already passed away, and also voters who said they did not approve the use of their name, Taipei Deputy Chief Prosecutor
RSS