The legislature’s Transportation Committee yesterday passed a resolution asking the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) to submit a plan to protect visitors to coastal areas after eight people were killed by a rogue wave on the northeast coast on Saturday, and called for the officials responsible to be held accountable.
The accident happened when a group of Shulin Community College students were walking on the Bitou Cape Trail in Longdong Geopark. Eight others were injured.
Lawmakers were particularly angered by remarks made by Hsu Cheng-long (許正隆), director of the Northeast and Yilan Coast National Scenic Area Administration, who reportedly said the agency was morally responsible for the tragedy.
Photo: CNA
For the scenic area administration to say it is only morally responsible shows that ministry officials are clueless about crisis management, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Chia-cheng (盧嘉辰) said.
The Tourism Bureau issued a statement yesterday saying that Hsu would be transferred.
Lu referred to an accident in 1977, in which 32 college students died when the ship they were on capsized in Suao Port, Yilan County. Then-minister of education Chiang Yen-shi (蔣彥士) resigned over the incident, the lawmaker said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said that former Taiwan Provincial Government education director Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) also resigned to take responsibility when Fengyuan Senior High School’s auditorium collapsed in 1983, killing 26 teachers and students.
She said the scenic area administration’s careless statement about the rogue wave was unacceptable.
Kuan, who presided over the committee meeting yesterday, said Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Kuang-shih (葉匡時) should apologize over the remark before tomorrow, when the committee would meet again.
If he refuses to do so, Yeh should step down, Kuan said.
DPP Legislator Lee Kun-tse (李昆澤) said that cold-blooded government officials are even scarier than rogue waves. He said the administration had been negligent because it only had five policemen patroling the coastline at the time of the accident.
Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Jonathan Chen (陳純敬) said the ministry would not shirk its responsibilities.
He said the scenic area administration had set up signs to warn visitors about rogue waves, but it does not have sufficient personnel to monitor the coastline extensively. Chen said the ministry has reached an agreement with the New Taipei City (新北市) Government to increase the number of law enforcement officers assigned to the area.
Chen also said the bureau would re-evaluate all the coastlines in scenic areas to address any safety issues. The bureau is also considering temporarily shutting down coastline walking trails if wind speeds and wave heights reach certain levels.
The Central Weather Bureau said rogue waves generally occur between May and June, and between October and January, particularly in Keelung, Yilan County, Greater Kaohsiung and Pintung County.
About 79 percent of rogue wave accidents happen when people are fishing or involved in water sports, the bureau added.
New Taipei Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) said security at northeastern coastal areas will be tightened to prevent further accidents.
Chu made the remarks after paying his respects to the dead at the New Taipei City municipal funeral parlor and extending his condolences to bereaved family members.
Chu said the city government will collaborate with the administration to increase safety precautions at the Longdong Geopark, known for its abundant and bizarre rock formations.
“We will also cooperate with the central government closely to ensure safety in northern and northeastern coastal areas, and prevent a repeat of this tragedy,” Chu said.
According to the city government’s plan, it will hold a meeting every two months attended by relevant central government units to review safety measures in northeastern coastal scenic areas.
The city government will also set up a special task force to intensify patrols at select scenic areas on weekends and national holidays, Chu said, adding that an emergency reporting system will be established in the near future.
Chu said the city government will be offering consolation money to the families of the victims.
Additional reporting by CNA
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
RSS