A seven-member delegation of officials and experts left for Beijing yesterday to discuss establishing a cross-strait mechanism to share information on food safety and deal with tainted food crises.
Led by the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) vice secretary-general, Chang Shu-ti (張樹棣), the group of health and food experts will be in Beijing for three days to discuss the issue with their Chinese counterparts.
Chang yesterday said they would have some preparatory work to do after arriving in Beijing in the afternoon and would start discussions today. Chang said he was unclear about today’s schedule and who they would talk to.
Chang said the delegation would write a report after it returned tomorrow. He said he was unsure whether there would be a press conference at that point or whether they would present their findings to Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) first.
Chang said the SEF’s goal was to establish a communication channel for experts from both sides of the Taiwan Strait to share food safety information, such as how melamine was added to certain products, what inspection processes and standards are employed in China and how to prevent future food scandals.
Bureau of Health Promotion Director-General Hsiao Mei-ling (蕭美玲) said she would like to meet officials from China’s inspection bureau and other experts to broaden her understanding of the melamine scandal.
She said she also hoped to learn about China’s food safety procedures and, most importantly, work toward a communication channel — modeled on the mechanism to share information on contagious diseases — to prevent tainted products from entering Taiwan without having to notify the SEF.
A senior official at the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) who asked to remain anonymous said the delegation should be careful about visiting any milk companies, because it might be misconstrued as an endorsement.
The official said the delegation was likely to meet Chinese officials, but because they were not authorized to negotiate, the purpose of their trip would merely be to lay the groundwork for a cross-strait food safety mechanism.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has proposed setting up a direct line to Beijing authorities for cases in which there are concerns about tainted products entering Taiwan.
MAC Vice Chairman Liu Teh-hsun (劉德勳), however, said it did not matter whether there was such a line, as long as there was a channel for “direct,” “practical” and “effective” communication.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
RSS