台湾经济部长因高雄气体爆炸事件请辞
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.
台湾经济部长张家祝(Chang Chia-juch)和经济部政务次长杜紫军(Woody Duh)周四提出辞职，为上周高雄气体爆炸事件负责，他们可能是在此次致命事故后首批下台的高官。高雄气体爆炸事件造成至少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.
这两位官员的辞职尚需得到台湾行政院院长江宜桦的批准。台湾行政院表示，正力争说服两人留任。
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.
张家祝在一份声明中称，地方仍持续指责中央，造成政局动荡不安。他呼吁各党派团结一致解决危机。
'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.
声明称：“家祝选择一肩扛起，承担所有责难，期盼藉此呼吁朝野抛开政党利益，共同携手解决当前困境。”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，高雄发生一系列爆炸，并引发大火。爆炸是由一条出现故障的地下管道泄漏的丙烷导致的。爆炸造成房屋损毁、道路断裂，超过300人受伤。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.
高雄市进行的初步调查显示，破损的天然气管道属于李长荣化学工业股份有限公司(LCY Chemical Co., 简称：李长荣化工)，这是台湾重要的化工企业，过去曾有过违反安全规定的纪录。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责，因监管方面可能存在疏忽，未能确保企业对管道进行例行维护。检方也在调查其他潜在的事故原因。According to the ministry, the task of overseeing the health of the pipes lies with the local government where the pipes are buried.
台湾经济部称，监管管道安全状况的任务应由管道所在地的地方政府承担。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.
现年64岁的张家祝于2013年2月就任经济部长，当时围绕台湾是否应继续依赖核能和政府决定上调电价存在激烈争议。在就任经济部长之前，张家祝曾在中华航空股份有限公司(China Airlines Ltd., 简称：中华航空)、中国钢铁股份有限公司(China Steel Co., 简称：中钢公司)等几家台湾公司担任高管。'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.
国立台湾大学政治学教授王业立表示，经济部长辞职显然是为了阻止公众不满情绪继续影响到政府高层。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.
包括副市长在内的高雄市政府四位高级官员周四也提出辞职，为爆炸事故承担责任。他们的辞呈正等待市长陈菊批准。
