The Control Yuan yesterday proposed corrective measures for the Department of Health (DOH) for failing to quarantine fruit imported from Vietnam that was contaminated with excessive pesticides before they were put on the market.
Control Yuan members Cheng Jen-hung (程仁宏) and Frank Wu (吳豐山) said in their report that DOH officials should not let fruit importers claim their merchandise at customs before the result of pesticide residue tests is released.
When DOH officials learned that the pesticide prochloraz found in a batch of dragon fruit imported from Vietnam was 0.27 parts per million (ppm), much higher than the permissible level, the fruit had already reached market in eight cities and counties, the Control Yuan report said.
PHOTO: CNA
The Control Yuan criticized the DOH for being negligent in its testing procedures, which has resulted in similar cases over the years.
Data compiled by the DOH show that officials denied import licenses for 120 batches of vegetables and fruits between 2006 and this year.
However, 20 batches of substandard fruit and vegetables made it to the market before import permits were denied, the report said.
Meanwhile, the Control Yuan also proposed corrective measures for Fuhsing Township (復興) in Taoyuan County, as well as the Taoyuan County Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB) yesterday for their handling of an incinerator project.
Fuhsing Township was charged with dereliction of duty in procuring land for the county government’s plan to set up an incinerator.
In addition, the DOH criticized the EPB for inviting the winning bidder for the incinerator project to start construction before the government was entitled to use the land, Control Yuan member Lee Ping-nan (李炳南) said.
Also yesterday, the Control Yuan proposed corrective measures for the Construction and Planning Agency of the Ministry of the Interior.
Control Yuan member Lin Ju-liang (林鉅鋃) said in his report that the government paid an additional NT$490 million (US$15 million) on building an expressway from Wanli (萬里) to Juipin (瑞濱) in Taipei County because of problematic designs in the construction design that the agency proposed.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
RSS