The food scare scandal has hit the entire country. There is hardly a single person in Taiwan who has not been affected; it is simply a matter of how much tainted oil they have ingested. It is even worse for food stall vendors — they are simply trying to make a living, to feed their families and to put a roof over their heads. They had no idea they would become embroiled in the mess created by unscrupulous companies and collusion between politicians and businesses.
Endometrial cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer and colorectal cancer are being seen in people of an increasingly young age, and young girls are developing breasts and reaching sexual maturity earlier. Although it is difficult to identify the deciding factors behind these phenomena, we have recently become aware that we have been consuming unimaginable substances on a daily basis, many of which would not be fit for animals. It is inconceivable we could eat these things day in, day out, and not become ill.
This wave of scandals has made the public angry. People have finally started to protest. Finally, because the protests are long overdue and should have begun with the plasticizer scandal. Finally, they have lost patience with the unconscionable conduct of certain companies and those who run them. And yet, there is still reason to feel pessimistic about food safety here.
Firstly, Taiwanese seem to have short memories. In a month, the media will have set its sights on another issue, and little attention will be paid to how these companies are punished. Second, people are angry, and the government has to take note because of the impending elections. Is it really acceptable if the government shirks its responsibilities and allows itself to be driven by populist demands for boycotts?
It would be very unfortunate if the kind of unscrupulous practices that some businesspeople try to get away with happened in the world of medicine. There, it is best to keep any mistakes or irregularities to an absolute minimum, and this can be done by constantly reviewing and establishing systems. Creating a complete system reduces the possibility of errors. Also, every time a mistake does occur, the focus is not on which particular individual is to blame, but on isolating the fault in the system. That is, even if someone is hurt because one individual makes a mistake, it is because there is a flaw in the system, and not just because of that person alone.
In other words, although the string of food safety scandals were caused by unscrupulous individuals, you have to ask whether the government should be doing more than just fining the offending companies. Does the government have the ability, or the intention, to use a systematic, structured approach to prevent unscrupulous companies like the ones behind the food scandals from crawling out of the woodwork?
The big corporations that the government loves are the paymasters behind the current ruling party; they are their partners in making money here and in China, and they are essential for the flow of money that feeds the collusion between politics and business. How can we trust a party that has such good relations with these people to ensure that any systemic loopholes are closed?
It is not enough simply to berate these companies. Criticizing individual people without investigating the systemic flaws is no good. More of their kind will just keep popping up, no matter how many are hit on the head, just like in a game of Whac-A-Mole.
If you do not want to be locked in an incessant game of Whac-A-Mole, the only way is to put an end to this pernicious collusion between politicians and businesspeople.
Lin Ching-yi is the director of the Democratic Progressive Party’s Department of Women’s Development.
Translated by Paul Cooper
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