After being questioned by Taipei prosecutors yesterday over an alleged cover-up of an H5N2 avian flu outbreak, former Council of Agriculture minister Chen Wu-hsiung (陳武雄) told the media that there had been no cover-up and stressed that everything had been conducted in line with administrative procedures.
Chen also said that he was the “big boss” referred to in a recording released by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of a meeting held on Feb. 1 to discuss the risks of an H5N2 bird flu outbreak in Fangyuan Township (芳苑), Changhua County, which was first reported on Dec. 27.
As part of an investigation into whether an alleged cover-up of an H5N2 avian flu outbreak took place, Taipei prosecutors yesterday also summoned former Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine director Hsu Tien-lai (許天來) for questioning.
Prosecutors said Chen was questioned as a witness.
Prosecutors are investigating a claim of malfeasance against Hsu over the alleged concealment of the outbreak in January and reporting the high-risk outbreak as a low-risk incident. Several other senior officials may also be investigated.
DPP legislators have said that a recording from the meeting includes Hsu saying that the notification of the outbreak should be postponed until “after the boss steps down” because “it is not urgent.”
Prosecutors said they had also obtained the minutes from the Feb. 1 meeting.
According to the DPP legislators, Hsu also said that “the big boss has not agreed with it,” and “if it eventually takes compensation, we would need approval from the Executive Yuan.”
They added that the “it” Hsu mentioned could be a plan to compensate farmers whose chickens have to be culled because of the flu outbreak.
Before Chen’s statement that the “big boss” was him, DPP lawmakers said that it also could have been former premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) or President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), and that the cover-up could have been an attempt to benefit Ma’s re-election campaign.
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) hosted a dinner in Taipei last night with key Taiwanese suppliers to celebrate the successful mass production of the company’s new Blackwell AI systems. Speaking to the media earlier yesterday, Huang thanked Nvidia’s Taiwanese partners for their contributions to the company’s ecosystem, while also sharing his plans to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀). In response to rumors that Nvidia will launch a downgraded Hopper H20 chip for China in July, Huang dismissed the reports, saying, “That is not true.” He clarified that there
RSS