Mayor Lu uses 'elimination' to find 'gatekeeper' in oil scandal; lawmaker asks if 8 years of no inspections makes her one

Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen has employed a process of elimination to deflect accusations of being a "gatekeeper" in a scandal involving carcinogenic oil. During a city council meeting, Lu was pressed to identify who was responsible for a controversial food safety decision that allowed products with less than 20% contamination to remain on shelves. She explicitly excluded Food and Drug Administration Director-General Chiang Yu-wei, stating he "hasn't been in his position long enough to make such a decision." Lu also ruled out former pandemic response leader and current Minister without Portfolio Chen Shih-chung, arguing his past handling of food safety and pandemic issues did not align with this particular policy.

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He hasn't been in his position long enough to make such a decision.

Lu implied that the central government's decision was unusual and questionable. She suggested that others could be investigated and that media and elected officials should continue their inquiries. However, opposition councilors accused Lu of inaction. Democratic Progressive Party councilor Chiang Chao-kuo pointed out that Lu's administration had only actively inspected the company involved, Chung-Lien Oil, once in nearly eight years. He questioned whether this lack of oversight made her the "gatekeeper" the public is concerned about, especially given the company's significant size.

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He hasn't made decisions like this before in past food safety incidents or pandemic responses.

Chiang also criticized the city's handling of other food safety cases, drawing parallels to a previous incident where a fine for expired A-hepatitis contaminated berries was overturned. He argued that while officials don't necessarily need to resign, they should understand their political accountability. Chiang emphasized that local governments play a crucial role in inspections, a point Lu herself advocated for when she was a legislator. He stated that the central government has not blamed Lu for the oil incident, making her repeated accusations against them seem like an attempt to shift blame.

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You haven't inspected [the company] in 8 years, so will people think you are the gatekeeper?