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.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
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