Mislabeled vinegars add to widening food scandal

Mislabeled vinegars add to widening food scandal

 

SOUR TASTE: The latest blow to the food industry was dealt when authorities found 13 of 16 vinegars inspected were mislabeled, and follows a scare over adulterated oils

 

A recent food safety inspection has revealed that more than 80 percent of vinegars are falsely labeled, the Taipei City Government said yesterday.

 

The inspection randomly sampled 16 vinegar products sold at supermarkets and hypermarkets were, with 13 found to be incorrectly labeled.

 

The Taipei City Department of Health said that falsely labeling food is a violation of the Act Governing Food Sanitation (食品衛生管理法), which stipulates a fine of up to NT$3 million (US$100,000) for manufacturers caught mislabeling their products.

 

Taipei Food and Drug Division Director Hsiu-yi Chiu (邱秀儀) said that the 13 vinegars that failed to meet regulations bore labels that did not list all their ingredients or an expiration date.

 

Red wine and spicy vinegar from Ta An Kong Yen Foods Co (大安工研食品公司), Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corp’s (台灣菸酒公司) rice vinegar and Carrefour-brand white vinegar were among the products found to have violated regulations and the three manufacturers will be instructed to change the labels, Chiu said.

 

None of the 16 vinegars tested had been adulterated with illicit substances, she added.

 

The inspection was conducted in the wake of a food safety scandal that broke when it was found that many edible oils had been either adulterated or falsely advertised.

 

The Ministry of Health and Welfare has vowed to enhance food inspection mechanisms and amend the act to deter illegal behavior in the manufacturing and advertising of food products.

 

Another measure the ministry is mulling to improve food safety is lowering the labeling threshold of genetically modified raw materials contained in food products from 5 percent to 0.9 percent.

 

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Kui-fang  Li Ken (厲耿桂芳) said the health department had investigated 325 cases of false food product labeling over the past five years, for which NT$10 million in fines have been levied.

 

Such cases have become one of the nation’s biggest health problems — second only to exaggerated advertising of medicines and related products — so central and local authorities need to pay more attention to the issue and enhance safety mechanisms, she said.

 

The department said it would continue its efforts to improve inspections of major food items.

 

(TAIPEI TIMES, 6 Wednesday November 2013 The Roman)

 

Su calls for Huang to step down now

Su calls for Huang to step down now

 

Prosecutor-General Shih-ming Huang (黃世銘) should step down immediately following his indictment on charges of leaking classified information, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Tseng-chang Su (蘇貞昌) said yesterday, adding that President Ying-jeou Ma’s (馬英九) alleged intervention in judicial processes in violation of the Constitution should also be looked into once he leaves office.

 

Huang was indicted yesterday for allegedly leaking classified information to Ma by briefing the president on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 while an investigation into Legislative Speaker Jin-pyng Wang’s (王金平) alleged improper lobbying was still ongoing.

 

Huang said yesterday that he will resign if he is convicted of leaking secrets in his first trial.

 

“Although prosecutor-general is a position guaranteed for a set term, Huang should step down, as he has lost all credibility and is no longer fit for the job,” Su told a press conference yesterday.

 

On Aug. 31, Huang allegedly revealed confidential information about a case still under investigation to the president at his residence Su said.

 

Ma not only failed to stop Huang from doing this, but had even used Premier Yi-huah Jiang (江宜樺) and then-presidential office deputy secretary-general Chih-chiang Lo (羅智強) to disseminate the information, Su added.

 

Lo held press conferences to spread the information and used it to seek to suppress Ma’s political enemies and cause a political incident, Su said.

 

“This was completely unacceptable,” the DPP chairman said.

 

Although Ma has immunity from criminal charges while president, the judiciary should press charges after he leaves office, Su said, adding that Jiang should also resign.

 

Separately yesterday, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Cheng-ching Liao (廖正井) also said that the Executive Yuan should immediately demand Huang’s resignation because his involvement in the case has led to the “loss of his credibility as leader” of the Special Investigation Division (SID) of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.

 

That the prosecutors at the Taipei District Prosecutors Office investigated the case regardless of Huang’s position was admirable, Liao added.

 

KMT Legislator Te-fu Lin (林德福) said Huang should contemplate resigning, but when asked whether Huang should tender his resignation, Lin stopped short of replying in the affirmative.

 

KMT Legislator Hsueh-chang Lu (呂學樟), on the other hand, said the indictment did not necessarily require Huang’s resignation or suspension because he should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

 

However, the Ministry of Justice should refer the case to the Control Yuan to determine Huang’s administrative responsibility and Huang should definitely step down if he is charged with any wrongdoing by the Control Yuan, Lu said.

 

Deputy Legislative Speaker Hsiu-chu Hung (洪秀柱), of the KMT, said she expected Huang to decide wisely whether he should stay or go.

 

“As a person who studies law, he should be able to make a judicious decision,” Hung said.

 

When asked to comment, Wang offered a brief answer, saying only that he “believed in the judiciary and respected the judiciary.”

 

Separately, at the legislature’s question-and-answer session yesterday afternoon, Jiang, when asked by DPP Legislator Chih-wei Chiu (邱志偉) for comment, said nothing more than that he “respected the judiciary.”

 

Unhappy with the answer, Chiu said the premier should have spoken up for the prosecutors at the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office and rebutted Huan

 

Minister of Justice Ying-shay Lo (羅瑩雪) told Chiu that the ministry did not consider it necessary to suspend Huang at present.

 

“Huang has accused the prosecutors of bowing to pressure to indict him. As a premier and minister of justice, how can you have nothing to say about Huang damaging the credibility of the judiciary?” Chiu said.

 

Each of the two charges brought by the prosecutors against Huang under Article 132 of Criminal Code and Article 27 of the Communication Security and Surveillance Act (通訊保障及監察法) could lead to a maximum sentence of three years in prison, but for now Huang should not be suspended, Lo said.

 

KMT Legislator Yao-chang Hsu (徐耀昌) urged Jiang to ask Huang to tender his resignation, saying that he has become a “drag” on the administration.

 

(TAIPEI TIMES, 2 Saturday November 2013 The Roman)

 

Legal battle with Wang to continue, KMT says

Legal battle with Wang to continue, KMT says

 

TOO LATE: Legislative Speaker Jin-pyng Wang missed the deadline to appeal to the KMT to retain his party membership, so it will be resolved through legal means

 

[caption id="attachment_9429" align="alignnone" width="205"] (Legislative Speaker Jin-pyng Wang leaves the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday after an opposition motion of no confidence in Premier Yi-huah Jiang Cabinet was voted down. (Photo: Jung-fong Chien, Taipei Times))[/caption]

 

While expressing regret over Legislative Speaker Jin-pyng Wang’s (王金平) decision not to lodge an appeal with the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Integrity Committee to retain his party membership, the party yesterday said its legal battle against Wang over his membership will continue.

 

Wang’s party membership was revoked by the KMT last month over his alleged improper lobbying for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Chien-ming Ker (柯建銘) in a legal matter.

 

While the party later softened its stance and urged him to appeal within its structures to retain his membership, he did not file an appeal by the deadline on Monday.

 

The KMT Culture and Communication Committee director Tai-chi Fan Chiang (范姜泰基) said to President Ying-jeou Ma (馬英九), who is also KMT chairman, and party heavyweights have called for Wang to resolve the issue by appealing to the party, and the KMT will respect his decision.

 

“Because the deadline for the party’s appeal procedures has passed, we will wait for the result of the lawsuit and resolve the issue through legal means,” he said.

 

The legal battle between Wang and the KMT began when Wang filed a provisional injunction with the Taipei District Court against the party’s decision to revoke his membership and therefore invalidate his legislator status.

 

The court ruled that Wang would be able to retain his membership and rights as a KMT member after submitting a guarantee of NT$9.38 million (US$315,000), to the KMT.

 

President Ma has urged Wang to contest the party’s decision through internal channels amid the legal battle.

 

Former KMT chairmen Chan Lien (連戰) and Poh-hsiung Wu (吳伯雄) also tried to persuade Wang to resolve the political strife by appealing to the party and promoting unity ahead of its party congress.

 

Wang said that although he knew the party was sincere in its efforts to reach out to him, he has not changed his mind about how he would resolve the issue.

 

The KMT is to invite all party delegates to attend the party congress, which is scheduled to be held next month in Greater Taichung.

 

Wang, a KMT legislator and delegate, will be on the invitation list, Fan Chiang said, dismissing previous suggestions that the party would exclude Wang from the event.

 

(TAIPEI TIMES, 16 Wednesday October 2013 The Roman)

(Edited: R.S.F. toshiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 17 Thursday October 2013 The Roman)

 

KMT: Majority party in Taiwan, The Kingdom of Mandarin. Ruling party.

 

(R.S.F. toshiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 17 Thursday October 2013 The Roman)

 

Wiretap report ‘hurts credibility’

Wiretap report ‘hurts credibility’

 

WIRETAPPING WHITEWASH ? Critics said the public would not believe what was a blatant coverup for Shih-ming Huang, and the ministry made up its mind even before the probe

 

The conclusion reached by the Ministry of Justice’s report that the Special Investigation Division (SID) of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s wiretapping of the Legislative Yuan’s telephone line was a mistake has prompted criticism from some legal experts, who said the report has greatly damaged the credibility of the judiciary.

 

An 11-member task force consisting of officials and outside experts responsible for the investigation into the wiretapping of the legislature found no evidence that the SID did it deliberately, Deputy Minister of Justice Ming-tang Chen (陳明堂) told a press conference on Friday.

 

The findings supported the SID’s earlier assertion that it thought the 10-digit number it asked to have wiretapped belonged to a cellphone used by Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Chien-ming Ker (柯建銘), who was being investigated at the time over alleged influence peddling on behalf of a prison inmate seeking parole.

 

While the SID did not wiretap the legislature on purpose, a mistake was made and the task force recommended that administrative disciplinary measures be considered for Prosecutor-General Shih-ming Huang (黃世銘), SID spokesman Jung-tsung Yang (楊榮宗) and the prosecutor in charge of the Ker investigation, SID prosecutor Shen-yuan Cheng (鄭深元), by referring them to the Prosecutors Evaluation Committee.

 

Taiwan Forever Association founder Wen-lung Cheng (鄭文龍), who is active in judiciary circles, said the report has no credibility and the public would not believe such a blatant coverup for Huang.

 

Minister of Justice Ying-shay Lo (羅瑩雪) said before the task force was even established that the SID had not intended to wiretap the legislature, Wen-lung Cheng  said, adding that Lo’s comments, and the task force investigation results, seemed to imply that the ministry was attempting to cover up for Huang.

 

Pointing to the report’s condemnation of Shen-yuan Cheng having to take most of the responsibility for administrative oversight, Wen-lung Cheng said that the public could not accept such a result.

 

The SID, being under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, is the best equipped and supported judiciary agency, not to mention that it has the best prosecutors the nation has to offer, Wen-lung Chen said.

 

“I found it difficult to believe that the SID could wiretap the legislature for more than four months and not discover that it was the Legislative Yuan’s main switchboard,” he said.

 

Wen-lung Cheng also said that the investigative report, available after only 10 days, was clearly intended to act as a pointer for the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office as to which direction its ongoing investigation should take, he added.

 

“It is a clear interference with judicial independence and an ongoing investigation,” he said.

 

Meanwhile, Judicial Reform Foundation executive director Feng-jeng Lin (林峰正) said the ministry’s task force had created more problems than it solved, pointing to an incident on May 21, when the SID called the number under surveillance that was later confirmed as the Legislative Yuan switchboard, but which Huang and the rest of the investigated SID members denied knowing.

 

The ministry’s task force made no recommendations of punitive measures, but decided that the SID had not intentionally bugged the legislature, then dumped the responsibility on the Prosecutors Evaluation Committee, Lin said, asking: “What then is the point of having the task force?”

 

Saying that the task force has already deprived the committee of any chance or room for further investigation, Lin added that he hoped the committee would remain independent and objective when it makes its evaluation of the SID.

 

(TAIPEI TIMES, 13 Sunday October 2013 The Roman)

(Edited R.S.F. toshiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 13 Sunday October 2013 The Roman)