Lee said that he will not shirk his responsibilities, stressing that he has never hidden anything from the public and he wants to know the cause of the blasts more than anyone.

The chairman said that in response to prosecutors' demands, the firm on Aug. 2 had examined the culverts underneath the explosion sites, stressing that, however, LCY cannot comment on the results of the examination before the prosecutors reveal the conclusions of their investigation.

Lee, during his five-minute press conference, however, did not respond to reporters' questions as to why the firm did not immediately report that its pipelines were leaking to the Kaohsiung Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB) before the blasts occurred.

As to why his company did not feel that abnormal pressure levels might indicate a leak, the chairman and CEO said such an assessment is the responsibility of the China General Terminal & Distribution Corp. (CGTD, 華運倉儲), which transports LCY's petrochemicals through the pipes.

LCY Denies Accusation

Apart from the press conference held in Kaohsiung, LCY at the same time convened another press conference at the Taiwan Stock Exchange building in Taipei yesterday afternoon.

The company said as authorities cannot at the moment confirm that the cause of the incident was a natural gas or propene leak, LCY cannot confirm that it was at fault. The apology was an expression of regret over the pain suffered by the victims and their families, and the apology absolutely was not an admission that the firm had anything to do with the explosions, company representatives said.

LCY further said that given that the cause of the incident is yet to be determined, the public and media should not view LCY as the origin of the tragedy. If the cause of the blasts was due to leaks from LCY's propene pipelines, then the company will “definitely” bear the responsibilities, the LCY said.

LCY Deputy-General Manager Chiu Yuan-yuan (邱媛媛) said the propene pipeline that has been assumed to be the cause of the blasts was actually designed and inspected by the state-owned gasoline supplier CPC Corp.

Chiu further said that the CGTD is responsible for the output operation of the pipeline and LCY is in charge of the input operation. Chiu stressed that the company has been operating in accordance with standard operating procedures.

The company said it is worried that if it donates supplies to the victims now the company may be “questioned by the public about its position” and face heavier pressure. LCY said, therefore, it will not take any actions at the moment, noting that, however, it will “definitely” make donations in the future. The company has requested that its employees who live in Kaohsiung help the victims.

CPC spokesman Chang Jui-tsung responded to Chiu's remarks, saying that his company does not have a maintenance contract with LCY Chemical. The pipelines and the right to use them belong to LCY, Chang said.

李長榮道歉過高雄爆炸

通過Lauly李本中國郵政
2014年8月4日，上午12時04分TWN

台北，台灣 - 李長榮化工股份有限公司（LCY和李長榮化學工業）主席博威李（李謀偉）昨日召開的新聞發布會在高雄，第一次向公眾道歉過高雄繁華的多起爆炸上週四晚上。

截至昨日傍晚，爆炸殺死了28人，傷302，和兩名消防隊員仍然下落不明，根據中央災害應變中心。

民營石化企業李長榮的丙烯管道被放置在問題受到公眾和媒體的爆炸的可能原因。

李先生說，他不會推卸自己的責任，強調他從未向公眾隱藏任何東西，他想知道，爆炸比任何人的原因。

主席說，在應對檢察官的要求，8月2日該公司曾研究了爆炸地點下方的涵洞，強調，但是，LCY不能對審查結果發表意見之前，檢察官透露他們的調查結論。

李某，在他五分鐘的新聞發布會，但是，並沒有記者提問作出回應，為何該公司沒有立即報告，其管道滲漏到高雄市環境保護局（環保局）在爆炸發生之前。

至於為什麼他的公司並沒有感到異常的壓力水平可能表明有洩漏，該公司董事長兼首席執行官表示，這樣的評估是中國通用碼頭及分銷公司（CGTD，華運倉儲），它通過運輸李長榮石化產品的責任管道。

李長榮否認指責

除了在高雄舉行的新聞發布會上，李長榮同時又召開新聞發布會昨日下午在台北市台灣證券交易所大樓。

該公司表示，由於當局無法在目前證實，這起事件的起因是天然氣或丙烯洩漏，李長榮不能確認它是有過錯的。道歉是遺憾的受害者及其家屬所遭受的痛苦的表情，並且道歉絕對不承認該公司有任何與爆炸，公司代表說。

李長榮進一步表示，鑑於事件的起因是尚未確定，公眾和媒體不應該把本幣作為悲劇的起源。如果爆炸發生的原因，是由於本幣的丙烯管道洩漏，那麼該公司將“一定”承擔責任時，李長榮說。

LCY常務副總經理邱元元（邱媛媛）表示，已假定為爆炸原因的丙烯管道實際上是設計並檢驗的國有汽油供應商中國共產黨公司

邱進一步表示，CGTD負責管道的輸出操作和李長榮是負責輸入操作。邱強調，該公司一直按照標準作業程序操作。

該公司表示，它擔心，如果捐贈物資給災民，現在該公司可能會“質疑有關其位置的公共”，面對沉重的壓力。李長榮說，因此，它不會採取目前的任何行動，並指出，但是，它會“肯定”在未來的捐款。該公司已要求其員工誰住在高雄幫助受害者。

中國共產黨新聞發言人常瑞聰回應邱的言論，他說，他的公司沒有與李長榮化工維護合同。管道和正確的使用它們屬於李長榮，張說。