Taipei is suspending all use of powder and dust products at public events and is considering a general ban on all combustible powders and dust products, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday.
The comments were in response to reporters’ questions on Ko’s stance on the matter after Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) announced the temporary suspension of the use of colored powder in public events while safety issues are investigated.
A dust explosion on Saturday at Formosa Fun Coast in New Taipei City started a fire that injured hundreds of people, officials said.
Photo: Huang Chieh, Taipei Times
Ko made the statements at a lunch hosted by Democratic Progressive Party Legislative Yuan hopeful Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) in Tainan’s Yongkang District (永康).
Suspending the use of a product after an emergency before looking into what can be done better is standard operating procedure, Ko said, adding that if the use of powder products is allowed in the future, they must be noncombustible.
Separately, Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Derek Chen (陳金德) said that while he had prohibited the use of colored powder during his tenure as head of the municipal government’s Environmental Protection Bureau two years ago, it was over environmental concerns.
Photo: Huang Chieh, Taipei Times
Significant support in 2013 for a “Color Run” in Taipei and Taichung led to plans for one in Kaohsiung last year.
However, the bureau’s decision led to its cancelation.
In light of Saturday’s incident, applications for events in Kaohsiung that would use colored powder will not be approved, Chen said, adding that private events should not use such powders to improve safety.
Chen said Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) had spoken with New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) about the issue and pledged that Kaohsiung was prepared to aid patients.
Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and the E-Da Hospital had taken in three patients who were transferred from northern Taiwan, Chen Chin-te said.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RSS