Taiwan’s central and local governments have once again clashed over the “cancer-causing oil” controversy. In response to local governments accusing the central government of “covering up” (concealing the truth), Premier Cho Jung-tai countered by criticizing various local counties and cities for not diligently tracing the destinations of the carcinogenic oil.
According to comprehensive reports from Taiwan’s United Daily News and China Times, the major food safety incident involving Chung Lian’s soybean salad oil testing positive for excessive levels of the Class 1 carcinogen Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) has dragged on for over half a month and still no determination has been made as to whether the problem originated from raw soybeans or the manufacturing process. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an and other local leaders have questioned whether the central government deliberately concealed information and protected the company in the early stages, called on Cho Jung-tai to resign, and urged citizens to rally in a protest at Ketagalan Boulevard on July 25.
In response, Premier Cho Jung-tai on Friday (July 17) issued his first apology regarding the carcinogenic oil incident. During an interview on Saturday (the 18th), he pointed out that the Yilan County Government, on July 15, found that oil produced on April 1 also had issues, but this batch number was not among the 29 batches reported by Chung Lian, indicating that Chung Lian deliberately delayed its report and concealed information. He expressed deep regret that administrative authorities at all levels failed to promptly uncover all of the problematic batches.
However, Cho then questioned: if problematic oil from April 1 was found in Yilan, is it possible that other counties and cities don’t have any? He criticized that so far he has not seen other counties and cities “really putting effort into inspections,” and required all localities to thoroughly restock removed products and check whether there are any newly identified batch numbers not reported by Chung Lian. He emphasized that there has been no “cover-up” or any intention to relax the standards by any level of government.
Meanwhile, after Chiang Wan-an phoned Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen on Saturday, he will head to the Taichung City Government on Sunday morning (the 19th) to confer over the carcinogenic oil case. Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang and Yunlin County Magistrate Chang Li-shan will also attend. It is understood that following Chiang Wan-an’s proposal for a Ketagalan Boulevard gathering, several city and county leaders have been in close contact via cross-region platforms.
At Sunday’s meeting, Chiang Wan-an, Lu Shiow-yen and other local leaders will not only discuss the rally at Ketagalan Boulevard, but also deliberate on existing food safety system loopholes and the division of responsibility between central and local government, aiming to consolidate the demands for the protest. They do not rule out subsequently proposing amendments to the Food Safety Act in the Legislative Yuan.