Taiwan mayor alleges 'gatekeepers' in government over oil scandal

Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen has intensified her criticism of central government authorities regarding the "cancerous oil" scandal, accusing them of harboring "gatekeepers" who protect problematic companies. Her remarks came after the general manager of Zhonglian Grease, a company implicated in the scandal, attended a Ministry of Health and Welfare expert meeting on July 4.

“

We are only one step away from catching the gatekeeper.

The expert meeting controversially decided that oil products containing less than 20% benzopyrene would not require recall. Mayor Lu described this decision as "absurd" and "suspicious," questioning why a company representative was present during discussions that directly impacted their products. She believes this indicates a "gatekeeper" is protecting the company and undermining public food safety.

“

The central government's decision-making in this problematic oil incident has been absurd and raises suspicions. I have repeatedly said there are gatekeepers in the central government, and this has now been proven.

Lu demanded that the central government release the meeting minutes and surveillance footage from July 4. She insists this transparency is necessary to identify the "gatekeeper" and hold those responsible accountable for decisions that compromise public health. The mayor also highlighted that Taichung city authorities were previously blocked by the central government from conducting a second inspection of the company's facilities the day after the meeting.

“

The images coming from Ceuta show that the Madrid government's decision to grant Spanish, and therefore European, citizenship to over 500,000 illegal immigrants is deeply wrong and encourages human trafficking.