Taiwan Mayoral Candidate Demands Food Safety Probe, Invites Rival to Rally

A candidate vying for the mayoral seat in Chiayi City, Taiwan, has escalated his campaign by addressing a significant food safety concern, urging for decisive action from the central government. Chang Chi-kai, a former legislator and candidate for mayor, announced his intention to participate in a public rally on July 25 focused on food safety. He specifically called upon the Executive Yuan and the Ministry of Health and Welfare to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the origins and distribution of "cancerous oil" linked to the Zhonglian company. Chang demanded a clear timeline of the incident's handling and the assignment of administrative responsibility.

Chang criticized the central government's food safety policies, citing the "Five Rings 2.0" initiative, which he believes has failed in this instance. He pointed to loopholes in source inspection, process management, anomaly reporting, and downstream tracking. The candidate alleged that the company may have concealed batches of oil that should have been recalled, suggesting that the food safety framework has become ineffective. He stressed that local governments, while making efforts such as recalling affected products, cannot solely bear the burden of managing and tracing contaminated food sources across different counties.

Furthermore, Chang extended an invitation to his opponent, incumbent legislator Wang Mei-hui of the Democratic Progressive Party, to join him at the rally. He argued that as a legislator from the ruling party, Wang has a responsibility to push the central government for swift disclosure of investigation results. Chang also urged her to clarify her stance on increasing legal penalties for businesses involved in food safety violations and concealment, and on establishing a mandatory reporting system and robust consumer compensation mechanisms. He emphasized that food safety should transcend political divides and that a responsible candidate must demonstrate a concrete approach to major food safety crises.