The Control Yuan, which oversees government procedure and practices, told government agencies and departments yesterday to refrain from holding or supporting eating contests or any other competitions that could damage the health of contestants.
“It is against social justice and fairness” when participants of eating contests seek national health insurance-covered medical treatment for illnesses caused by excessive or hasty food consumption during such competitions, Control Yuan members Cheng Jen-hung (程仁宏) and Yin Jeo-chen (尹祚芊) said in a report on their investigation into eating contests.
In recent years, the contests have become popular in Taiwan, Cheng and Yin said, involving ingredients and foods ranging from chilies, beer and hotdogs to beef noodles.
However, it is common to see participants in eating contests being rushed to hospital because of illness caused by eating too much or too fast, they said.
These people’s medical bills, derived from their participation in contests that challenge the boundaries of their physical endurance, however, are mostly paid for by the entire population of the country because of the national health insurance system, they said.
Although the Bureau of National Health Insurance asks the organizers of eating contests or similar competitions to pay for the medical bills of their contestants if it can prove the competition is the cause of the illness, the Department of Health should also take the initiative in monitoring such competitions, Cheng said.
In their report, Cheng and Yin also said the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the top authority in charge of the management of commercial activities, should establish regulations to restrict extreme activities and impose rules to regulate how such activities should be organized.
“Eating contests are not banned by the law, but they can be harmful to the health,” Cheng said.
Government agencies and departments in particular should not be organizing such activities, he said, citing examples including a braised pork rice-eating contest held by the Taipei City Government in 2007 to promote traditional Taiwanese cuisine.
Cheng and Yin also urged the National Communications Commission, the top authority responsible for regulating telecommunications and broadcasting services, to push media outlets to add words of warning to their video coverage of eating contests or similar competitions.
A Hualien pomelo farmer refused to sell to China after the country announced it would permit more Taiwanese pomelo imports, prompting widespread support from Taiwanese consumers, who rallied to buy his fruit. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said that China’s General Administration of Customs registered an additional 79 Taiwanese pomelo orchards and packing facilities in Hualien County, allowing more Taiwanese producers to export pomelos to China. “I am a Hualien fruit farmer and I refuse to sell to China,” Liu Tzu-hao (劉子豪) from Ruisui Township (瑞穗) said in an online post. Liu is a well-known farmer in the community and has served
A Chinese military drone was spotted conducting reconnaissance off Taitung County as President William Lai (賴清德) visited Pingtung County this morning to inspect a drill of the armed forces’ precision-strike capabilities, prompting the military to closely monitor its actions. Today was the final day of a three-day military exercise at Jioupeng Base (九鵬基地) to test the joint combat capabilities of the armed forces and coast guard. The exercise began on Wednesday simulating air defense interception and yesterday tested long-range strike capabilities and new air defense weapons. This morning, the military conducted a final exercise involving air defense, anti-ship and drone operations. Military sources said
UPDATE: The submarine would need to undergo combined systems testing and crew training for navy personnel before it is ready for mission, an expert said Taiwan’s first domestically built submarine, the Hai Kun (Narwhal, 海鯤), could be delivered to the navy as early as next month, military expert and Taiwan Association for Security and Development chairman Chi Tung-yun (紀東昀) said yesterday. The submarine was yesterday morning observed departing for its 21st sea trial and its 15th submerged test. The vessel missed the initial delivery deadline of November last year due to “testing delays,” its primary contractor, shipbuilder CSBC Corp, Taiwan, said in June. The contractor also cited “political pressure from China” in procuring critical equipment. All testing operations are in the final stages, with the
OCT. 31: The antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Eraflu have been distributed to about 4,000 medical facilities nationwide for people in seven groups who develop flu-like symptoms As the domestic influenza epidemic enters its peak season and continues to escalate, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday announced that publicly funded influenza antiviral drugs for seven eligible groups have been extended to Oct. 31, allowing those who develop flu-like symptoms to receive the medication without undergoing a rapid influenza test. The CDC has extended the expanded use of flu antiviral drugs to seven groups: healthcare and influenza-prevention personnel; residents and staff at nursing homes, long-term care facilities and similar institutions; kindergarten and daycare workers and home-based caregivers; students from kindergarten through high school, vocational high school and the
RSS