The Consumers’ Foundation yesterday named the six most important news stories of the year in merchandising, with unsafe food products, such as melamine-tainted milk products from China, topping the list.
The melamine scandal was sparked in September when contaminated milk powder produced by China’s Sanlu Group entered the Taiwanese market and was distributed to various parts of the country.
Melamine, an industrial chemical used in plastics, had been added to milk products to give a false reading on protein content. Excessive consumption of melamine can cause kidney stones or kidney failure.
PHOTO: LIU LI-JEN, TAIPEI TIMES
To address public concern, the Department of Health resorted to offering free kidney check-ups at hospitals across the country.
The foundation criticized the department, however, for its poor handling of the situation by giving it the “Very Bad Award.”
The department’s actions led to a loss of confidence in the safety of food products and must be condemned, foundation deputy secretary-general Gaston Wu (吳家誠) told a press conference in Taipei yesterday.
In the private sector, RT Mart, Fonterra and Nestle Taiwan all received the “Very Black Award” — “black” standing for black-hearted products — by the foundation for poor business practices during the melamine scandal.
A foundation’s list showed that unsafe food products included melamine-tainted milk products, rice wine laced with industrial chemicals and animal feed tainted with ractopamine.
“If consumers lack the necessary information about food products, they are vulnerable to being exposed to food products that could harm them,” Wu said.
He urged consumers to actively seek information about the products they buy to be on the safe side.
“Overall, this was a sad, depressing and helpless year for consumers,” he said.
LOW RISK: Most nations do not extradite people accused of political crimes, and the UN says extradition can only happen if the act is a crime in both countries, an official said China yesterday issued wanted notices for two Taiwanese influencers, accusing them of committing “separatist acts” by criticizing Beijing, amid broadening concerns over China’s state-directed transnational repression. The Quanzhou Public Security Bureau in a notice posted online said police are offering a reward of up to 25,000 yuan (US$3,523) for information that could contribute to the investigation or apprehension of pro-Taiwanese independence YouTuber Wen Tzu-yu (溫子渝),who is known as Pa Chiung (八炯) online, and rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源). Wen and Chen are suspected of spreading content that supported secession from China, slandered Chinese policies that benefit Taiwanese and discrimination against Chinese spouses of
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
The US approved the possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet spare and repair parts for US$330 million, the Pentagon said late yesterday, marking the first such potential transaction since US President Donald Trump took office in January. "The proposed sale will improve the recipient's capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient's fleet of F-16, C-130," and other aircraft, the Pentagon said in a statement. Trump previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has told him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader is in office. The announcement of the possible arms
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
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