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Sunday, September 14, 2014

Minister willing to take responsibility for scandal: Taiwan's premier

Want China Times, CNA 2014-09-14
Health and Welfare minister Chiu Wen-ta during a press conference, Sept. 5.
(File photo/CNA)

 Taiwan's premier Jiang Yi-huah said Saturday that Health and Welfare minister Chiu Wen-ta has expressed his willingness to take responsibility for a snowballing food safety scandal but that now was not the time to discuss personnel changes.

Jiang said during a visit to Pingtung county that Chiu told him he wanted to apologize to the public and was willing to take any responsibility he had to assume for the scandal, which involves cooking oil made from questionable ingredients getting into the food chain.

With food safety concerns yet to subside, Jiang said it was not the right time to talk about adjustments to personnel involved in food safety.

Jiang said the most important task at present was to pull products containing substandard oils made by oil supplier Chang Guann from store shelves.

Carrying out reforms on related systems and assessing who should be held responsible for the incident will be left to the next phase of the process, he said.

Chang Guann, the company at the heart of the oil scandal, was found to be producing lard-based cooking oils made with putrid kitchen waste and industrial waste by-products or lard for use in animal feed imported from Hong Kong.

Chang Guann chairman Yeh Wen-hsiang was detained by prosecutors early Saturday, while government agencies continue to track the companies that used the company's oils and the products made with them.

More than 1,000 food manufacturers and restaurants are said to have used the questionable oils from Chang Guann in their products.

Health minister Chiu, meanwhile, was quoted by his aide as saying on Saturday that he had no time to think about resigning for the time being because he was busy handling the aftermath of the substandard oil mess.

But Chiu said he would not shirk any responsibility that fell his way, his aide added.

Also Saturday, Executive Yuan spokesman Sun Lih-chyun said Chiu expressed his willingness to take responsibility for the food scare during the regular weekly cabinet meeting last week, but noted that the issue was not discussed during the meeting.

On Friday, several lawmakers urged Chiu to step down to take responsibility for what they see as his poor handling of the food safety scare.
Yeh Wen-hsiang apologizes for the oil scandal, Sept. 11. (Photo/CNA)

Kuo Lieh-cheng covers his face with a hat as 
he rushes into Pingtung District Court, Sept. 6.
(Photo/Lin Ho-sheng)



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