The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday issued another statement on the bungled passport incident clarifying the number of misprinted copies and the cost of printing, stressing that it was not trying to conceal anything.
The ministry’s statement apologized for misprinting 550,000 biometric passports that mistakenly featured an image of Washington Dulles International Airport instead of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, but said it has not paid the printing cost of NT$220 million (US$7.4 million).
Following the discovery of the mistake, the ministry announced that it would recall 200,000 botched copies and reprint the passport.
However, New Power Party Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) on Saturday challenged the ministry’s numbers, saying the number of misprinted copies was actually 550,000 more than the 200,000 claimed by the ministry, and the government had to shoulder an estimated loss of NT$220 million.
The ministry on Saturday, in response to Huang’s statement, said its Bureau of Consular Affairs had placed a total order of 550,000 copies for the next-generation biometric passport with the Central Engraving and Printing Plant, but had only officially taken delivery of 200,000 misprinted copies.
The copies that have been received would be returned and reprinted, and the bureau had yet to pay the NT$80.8 million printing cost, it said.
The bureau would only pay for the remaining 350,000 copies after delivery and verification, it added.
In the statement issued yesterday, the ministry again clarified the issue, saying the bureau had placed an order for 650,000 copies of traditional passports and 550,000 copies of biometric passports, totaling NT$480 million.
The biometric passports were to cost NT$220 million, it said.
The announcement was about the first batch of 200,000 copies received, the ministry said, adding that it did not attempt to withhold information and all procurement information is publicly accessible on the government procurement Web site.
Late last night, the ministry told a news conference that to not waste tax money, the botched copies will not be reprinted; instead a special sticker will be pasted over the page that features the wrong image.
The sticker will include anti-counterfeit design elements and therefore will not compromise passport security, it added.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese