臺灣經濟部長因高雄氣體爆炸事件請辭
Taiwan Economic Minister Chang Chia-juch and his deputy Woody Duh on Thursday offered to step down to take responsibility over last week's gas explosions in the southern city of Kaohsiung, making them possibly the first high-ranking officials to fall after the fatal accident that killed at least 30 people.
臺灣經濟部長張家祝(Chang Chia-juch)和經濟部政務次長杜紫軍(Woody Duh)週四提出辭職，爲上週高雄氣體爆炸事件負責，他們可能是在此次致命事故後首批下臺的高官。高雄氣體爆炸事件造成至少30人死亡。Their resignations are still pending approval from Premier Jiang Yi-hua. The cabinet said it is trying to make them stay.
這兩位官員的辭職尚需得到臺灣行政院院長江宜樺的批准。臺灣行政院表示，正力爭說服兩人留任。
In a statement, Mr. Chang said finger-pointing between the local and central governments over the explosions has escalated and created political instability in Taiwan. He urged political parties to stand united to resolve the crisis.
張家祝在一份聲明中稱，地方仍持續指責中央，造成政局動盪不安。他呼籲各黨派團結一致解決危機。
'I choose to shoulder all responsibilities and undertake all criticisms, hoping to take this opportunity to urge the ruling and opposition parties to cast aside their own political interests and join hands to resolve the problems before us,' the statement said.
聲明稱：“家祝選擇一肩扛起，承擔所有責難，期盼藉此呼籲朝野拋開政黨利益，共同攜手解決當前困境。”Shortly before midnight on July 31, a series of explosions, caused by propane leaked from a faulty underground pipe, rocked Kaohsiung and triggered massive fires. The explosions destroyed homes, tore open roads and injured over 300.
7月31日午夜前，高雄發生一系列爆炸，並引發大火。爆炸是由一條出現故障的地下管道泄漏的丙烷導致的。爆炸造成房屋損毀、道路斷裂，超過300人受傷。A preliminary investigation by the city shows the faulty gas pipe belonged to LCY Chemical Corp., a major Taiwanese petrochemical player with a spotty safety-violation record.
高雄市進行的初步調查顯示，破損的天然氣管道屬於李長榮化學工業股份有限公司(LCY Chemical Co., 簡稱：李長榮化工)，這是臺灣重要的化工企業，過去曾有過違反安全規定的紀錄。Blames are also being hurled at the city and central governments for possible regulatory oversight for failing to make sure companies are performing routine maintenance of pipes. Prosecutors are still investigating the underlying causes.
高雄市及中央政府也受到指責，因監管方面可能存在疏忽，未能確保企業對管道進行例行維護。檢方也在調查其他潛在的事故原因。According to the ministry, the task of overseeing the health of the pipes lies with the local government where the pipes are buried.
臺灣經濟部稱，監管管道安全狀況的任務應由管道所在地的地方政府承擔。Mr. Chang, 64 years old, assumed the position in February 2013 amid heated controversies over Taiwan's continual reliance on nuclear energy and the government's decision to raise the price of electricity. Before the appointment, Mr. Chang held top positions in several Taiwanese companies including China Airlines Ltd. and China Steel Corp.
現年64歲的張家祝於2013年2月就任經濟部長，當時圍繞臺灣是否應繼續依賴核能和政府決定上調電價存在激烈爭議。在就任經濟部長之前，張家祝曾在中華航空股份有限公司(China Airlines Ltd., 簡稱：中華航空)、中國鋼鐵股份有限公司(China Steel Co., 簡稱：中鋼公司)等幾家臺灣公司擔任高管。'The resignation is clearly a move to stop public grievances from reaching all the way to the top level [of the government],' said Wang Yeh-lih, political science professor at National Taiwan University.
國立臺灣大學政治學教授王業立表示，經濟部長辭職顯然是爲了阻止公衆不滿情緒繼續影響到政府高層。Four of the Kaohsiung government's ranking officials, including a deputy mayor, also offered Thursday to step down to take responsibility for the explosions. Their resignations are waiting for approval from Mayor Chen Chu.
包括副市長在內的高雄市政府四位高級官員週四也提出辭職，爲爆炸事故承擔責任。他們的辭呈正等待市長陳菊批准。
