Taiwanese Mayors Criticized Over Toxic Oil Scandal Meeting

A closed-door meeting between four Taiwanese mayors to discuss the ongoing toxic oil scandal has drawn sharp criticism, with one commentator sarcastically labeling it a "meeting of the bottom four in class."

The mayors of Taipei, Keelung, and Yunlin met with Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen, who announced that local governments would hold their own "online national conferences on anti-toxic oil" next week. However, Chang Yu-meng, chairman of the Taiwan Youth Generation Association for Common Prosperity, detailed recent missteps by Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an, Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang, and Yunlin County Magistrate Chang Li-shan regarding the scandal.

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Is it not too thick-skinned to hold a national conference together with the bottom four in class? Usually, when a county or city government makes such a big mistake, it should be called a 'review meeting.'

Chang Yu-meng pointed to inconsistencies in statements from Keelung's government regarding involvement with the tainted oil batches. He also questioned Yunlin Magistrate Chang Li-shan's shifting accounts of food safety concerns and the quantity of oil recalled within the county. Regarding Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an, Chang highlighted his high absence rate from food safety meetings, despite chairing them.

Furthermore, Chang criticized Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen, questioning why the company Zhonglian Oil, implicated in the scandal, was only inspected once during her eight-year tenure. He also questioned the decision to allow the company to resume operations before a final investigation. Chang urged the mayors to directly identify the manufacturer of the problematic oil, suggesting that a "review meeting" was inappropriate given their track records. He questioned the pressure preventing them from naming the company, asking Lu Shiow-yen to publicly state the name of the manufacturer responsible for the oil produced in Taichung.

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It is pathetic that none of these four people dare to name Zhonglian today. How much pressure are they under?