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🇹🇼 Taiwan /Elections & Politics

Taiwan Opposition Candidate Demands Premier Resign Over Toxic Oil Scandal

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • KMT Yilan County Magistrate candidate Wu Tsung-hsien criticized the central government for allegedly covering up a toxic oil scandal and called for Premier Cho Jung-tai's resignation.
  • Wu alleges that the Food and Drug Administration was aware of high levels of benzopyrene in oil as early as June 30 but delayed product recalls and introduced a questionable "20% ghost standard."
  • He is organizing a protest on July 25 at Ketagalan Boulevard and demands a thorough investigation, cross-county information integration, and cabinet accountability.

KMT Yilan County Magistrate candidate Wu Tsung-hsien has vehemently criticized the central government's handling of a toxic oil scandal, accusing it of cover-ups and demanding the resignation of Premier Cho Jung-tai. At a press conference, Wu, joined by other KMT candidates, decried the alleged "poison oil" incident, asserting that the government's actions have exposed the public to carcinogenic risks.

Wu detailed a timeline of events, claiming the Food and Drug Administration received reports of benzopyrene exceeding standards by four times on June 30. He stated that only the first batch of oil was recalled on July 1, followed by the introduction of a "20% ghost standard" on July 4, which he claims lacked scientific basis and allowed most problematic products to remain on shelves. Public outcry reportedly led to a precautionary recall of oil products from April to June on July 9.

The central government has repeatedly delayed and covered up, allowing the public to continue to be exposed to carcinogenic risks?

— Wu Tsung-hsienCriticizing the government's response to the toxic oil scandal.

Questioning the government's repeated delays and alleged "cover-ups," Wu highlighted that Yilan County authorities recently discovered additional problematic oil products not included in the central government's recall list. He argued this demonstrates a systemic failure in the central government's food safety network, pointing to ongoing reporting errors and slow central investigations.

Wu and other elected officials presented four major demands: a complete investigation into the truth, a comprehensive audit of unreported products, the establishment of an integrated real-time information system across counties, and an apology and resignation from the cabinet. Wu emphasized that food safety transcends political divides and called for citizens to join a protest on July 25 at Ketagalan Boulevard to voice their anger and demand accountability from Premier Cho Jung-tai and Minister of Health and Welfare Shiu Chung-liang.

Food safety has no blue or green [KMT vs DPP political parties], only the health of the people.

— Wu Tsung-hsienEmphasizing the non-partisan nature of the food safety issue and calling for public unity.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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