高雄市政府提请法院冻结李长荣化工资产
The southern Taiwanese City of Kaohsiung has asked a court to freeze LCY Chemical Corp.'s assets, while investigating the petrochemical producer's role in the island's deadliest gas explosion.
台湾高雄市政府提请法院冻结李长荣化学工业股份有限公司(LCY Chemical Co., 简称：李长荣化工)的资产。当局正在调查李长荣化工在一场气体爆炸事故中的责任，这是台湾伤亡最惨重的一起可燃气体爆炸事故。At least 30 people were killed and 309 injured in the gas explosions that shook the city shortly before midnight on July 31. A series of blasts rocked the bustling Cianjhen District of Kaohsiung, Taiwan's second largest city by population and a major petrochemical hub.
事故发生在7月31日临近午夜时分，繁华的高雄市前镇区发生多次爆炸，震动了整座城市，导致至少30人丧生，309人受伤。高雄是台湾人口数量排名第二的城市，也是台湾重要的石化产业中心。
According to the city's preliminary investigations, LCY owns the faulty pipe that caused the explosions, which destroyed homes, ripped off manhole covers and tore open several roads.
据高雄市初步调查，导致爆炸的破损管道系李长荣化工所有。爆炸造成沿街房屋受损，井盖被炸飞，多条道路塌陷碎裂。
At a news conference on Wednesday, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu said the city is seeking to prevent LCY from transferring its assets, should the company be found guilty and liable for compensating the victims. Prosecutors are still investigating the cause of the blast and a final conclusion is awaited.
高雄市长陈菊在周三的新闻发布会上称，如果认定李长荣化工有罪并负有赔偿责任，高雄市政府将提请法院阻止李长荣化工转移资产。检方仍在调查爆炸原因，尚未作出最终结论。The company was the only chemical operator transferring propene--the only type of gas detected at the explosion sites--underground in Kaohsiung that night, the city government said.
高雄市政府称，李长荣化工是爆炸当晚唯一通过高雄市地下管道输送丙烯的化工运营商。爆炸现场只检测到丙烯这一种气体。'We have ruled out the possibility the explosion was caused by another type or a mixture of gas. We also have no evidence that shows the pipe was previously damaged during construction work,' the city government's spokesman, Ting Yun-Kung, said.
高雄市政府发言人丁允恭表示，已排除另一种气体或混合气体导致爆炸的可能性，目前没有证据表明这条管道曾在施工中受损。This isn't the first time that the 49-year-old company has been named in a major environmental disaster. In 1986, LCY's plant in Hsinchu City in central Taiwan was forced to shut down after residents complained the factory was emitting hazardous chemicals into the local water supply.
对于有49年历史的李长荣化工来说，这并不是其第一次卷入重大环境污染事件。1986年，李长荣化工在台湾新竹市的工厂被当地居民举报向供水系统排放有害化学物质，该厂被迫关闭。The company said it hasn't received the court's official notice on the city's request to freeze its assets, which totaled 57.7 billion New Taiwan dollars (US$1.92 billion) by the end of the first quarter. The company said in a separate statement late Wednesday that it will set aside 500 million New Taiwan dollars (US$16.6 million) to meet potential claims from victims, but didn't elaborate.
李长荣化工称，尚未接到法院就高雄市请求冻结公司资产发出的正式通知。截至第一季度末，该公司资产总额达新台币577亿元（约合19.2亿美元）。李长荣化工周三晚间另外发表声明称，将划拨新台币5亿元（约合1,660万美元）用于损害赔偿，但没有透露详情。Despite the weeklong, round-the-clock cleanup efforts, many streets are still littered with debris and thousands of homes remain without water and electricity. The underground pipeline network in the area has been suspended since the explosions. Nearly 200 people are still taking refuge at government shelters, data shows.
虽然清理工作已经不间断地持续了一周，许多街道仍布满了残砖断瓦，数以千计的家庭仍断水断电。发生爆炸以来，这一地区的地下管道网络已经停用。数据显示，有将近200人仍留在政府提供的临时住所。Fingers are also being pointed at the city and the central governments for possible regulatory oversight for failing to make sure the companies are performing routine maintenance of pipes.
舆论矛头还指向高雄市和台湾中央政府，人们怀疑监管部门督责不力，未能确保企业对管道的例行维护。According to Kaohsiung's initial estimate, it will cost at least 1.9 billion New Taiwan dollars to fix the roads and at least another 10 billion New Taiwan dollars in victim compensation.
据高雄市初步估计，修复道路将至少耗资新台币19亿元，另外还需要至少新台币100亿元用于赔偿受害者。Public reaction to the explosion has been overwhelming. Various social sites are teemed with sympathy for the victims and their families. Donations from the business community and individuals have reached over 800 million New Taiwan Dollars so far.
公众对这起爆炸反应强烈。各种社交网站充满了对受害者及其家属的同情。截至目前，来自商业协会和个人的捐款已超过新台币8亿元。
