The Cabinet yesterday said it would create an agency modeled on the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to strengthen inspection mechanisms and improve food and drug safety in the country, Minister of Department of Health Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) said.
At a press conference, Yeh relayed Premier Liu Chao-shiuan’s (劉兆玄) instructions made during the Cabinet meeting, where Yeh gave a second briefing on his department’s handling of the issue of melamine-tainted food products imported from China.
Yeh confirmed that three officials from China’s Zhongshi Duqing Biotech Co were in the country to confirm the claim by King Car Food Industrial Co that its products were contaminated because of imported materials from the Chinese company.
“King Car had sent two packs of the materials it bought from China back to Duqing for examination, but Duqing wanted to make sure that the melamine was not added into its products during their transportation from China to Taiwan,” Yeh said.
Asked if the government would help King Car Co seek compensation from Duqing while its officials are in Taiwan, Yeh said that compensation is “a business matter between King Car and Duqing.”
But he said that if King Car Co needs help from the government, the Straits Exchange Foundation would talk to its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait.
Yeh said that Liu also instructed his ministry to work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mainland Affairs Council in preparation for the country’s bid for WHO membership next year.
The WHO’s recent sharing of melamine-related information with its members based on the International Health Regulations again proved that Taiwan’s participation in the organization is a necessity, Yeh said.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
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