Legislators and environmentalists criticized the Council of Agriculture yesterday for failing to regulate genetically modified (GM) papaya seedlings in lab fields after the Cabinet's Department of Health discovered two GM papayas growing in Taichung County.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Eugene Jao (
According to Jao, the agriculture council commenced research in 1998 into the development of papayas resistant to the devastating papaya ring spot virus.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
One of the laboratories working on this is in Wufeng Township, Taichung County. The health department inspectors also discovered GM papayas growing in Wufeng in 2001.
"Rather than benefiting from the scientific research, we have become victims," Jao said at a press conference yesterday.
Huang Shan-ney (
Eric Liou (
"The government should immediately launch a safety assessment regarding GM papayas," Liou said.
In Europe or North America, it takes at least 10 years to complete a GM food safety assessment to safeguard consumers' health, Liou said.
"If we don't know anything about GM papayas, the product should not be available on the market," Liou said.
Pointing to a strain of GM papayas in Hawaii as an example of how the problem should be handled, Liou said the product was strongly promoted when it went to market five years ago, but last year it was scientifically associated with an allergen.
Liou said papaya cultivation is one of Taiwan's most important agricultural industries.
He said that it was not right that Taiwanese papaya farmers should to be hurt by the government's carelessness in regulating food products.
According to the health department, only two imported GM products are available on the Taiwanese market -- soya beans and corn. Another 11 GM food products and materials are under evaluation.
Health officials said the compulsory labeling of GM crops and products processed from GM foodstuffs would be implemented next year.
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
EVA Airways, one of the leading international carriers in Taiwan, yesterday said that it was investigating reports that a cabin crew manager had ignored the condition of a sick flight attendant, who died on Saturday. The airline made the statement in response to a post circulating on social media that said that the flight attendant on an outbound flight was feeling sick and notified the cabin crew manager. Although the flight attendant grew increasingly ill on the return flight, the manager did not contact Medlink — a system that connects the aircraft to doctors on the ground for treatment advice during medical
RSS