Three people in the indigenous communities of Djumulj (賓茂) and Rulakes (壢坵) in Taimali Township (太麻里), Taitung County, recently died from food poisoning, while several others are still in hospital. The victims ate steamed millet rice balls containing snail meat, and instant noodles and pork.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare issued a report that said that terbufos — an organophosphate used in many insecticides and nematicides — was found in the food remnants.
The tests showed that no other toxins were in the snail flesh and leaves, Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) said. The food tested positive for terbufos, but the source remains unclear. The test results were handed over to investigation units for further testing.
Forensic doctor Kao Ta-cheng (大成根) said the snails are not the smoking gun in the case, and that there are other factors at play.
Aside from the need for a swift clarification on the toxin’s origins, school principal and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Saidhai Tahovecahe, known for speaking out on indigenous peoples’ issues, wasted no time calling out contentious issues regarding this case.
The Internet is full of misconceptions and campaigns to smear indigenous peoples’ dining habits and customs, she said.
When this story broke, people brought up a news story from 39 years ago about the Kimlan Foods Corp food poisoning case, when five members of the company founder’s family died from nematode-carried Angiostrongylus cantonensis infections after eating raw snails. Some news outlets also mentioned this case, but false conclusions were drawn in Internet discussions trying to tie together the two cases.
For instance, the Kimlan victims were not indigenous, but Han Taiwanese who were duped into following a dangerous health fad.
Meanwhile, indigenous elders often warn younger community members that snail meat must be fully cooked in a complicated multistep process before being consumed.
So, when anonymous people on the Internet said that “indigenous peoples have a habit of eating raw snails,” this is utterly false and is an intentional distortion and smear.
Raw snail meat has never been a part of indigenous peoples’ food culture.
I have been well-acquainted for more than 30 years with several people concerned with health and welfare education of indigenous peoples’ communities, including Liu Ying-mei (劉影梅), a doctor who has worked tirelessly in this area. Liu has focused on indigenous health topics and created a well-thought-out university social responsibility plan called “community stars” (部落之星). Liu also composed “medicine and health” and “healthy diet” songs to help indigenous communities better monitor and improve community health outcomes.
She has repeatedly said that each campaign uses “a level of cultural sensitivity” as a premise, and travels directly to tribal community areas across Taiwan to talk with residents. Unlike others, Liu conducts local surveys and does not rush to apply labels or propose inappropriate policies by parachuting into a community to offer well-intentioned, but ignorant suggestions without knowing anything about the indigenous community’s circumstances.
The food poisoning case in a Taitung indigenous community is no different. Once again, it shows that much of society is prejudiced against indigenous people, including their eating habits. Taiwan needs to quickly develop an educational system that teaches cultural sensitivity.
Knight Chang is a political commentator and holds a doctorate degree in education.
Translated by Tim Smith
As it has striven toward superiority in most measures of the Asian military balance, China is now ready to challenge the undersea balance of power, long dominated by the United States, a decisive advantage crucial to its ability to deter blockade and invasion of Taiwan by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). America expended enormous treasure to develop the technology, logistics, training, and personnel to emerge victorious in the Cold War undersea struggle against the former Soviet Union, and to remain superior today; the US is not used to considering the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)
Since the end of the Cold War, the US-China espionage battle has arguably become the largest on Earth. Spying on China is vital for the US, as China’s growing military and technological capabilities pose direct challenges to its interests, especially in defending Taiwan and maintaining security in the Indo-Pacific. Intelligence gathering helps the US counter Chinese aggression, stay ahead of threats and safeguard not only its own security, but also the stability of global trade routes. Unchecked Chinese expansion could destabilize the region and have far-reaching global consequences. In recent years, spying on China has become increasingly difficult for the US
The annual summit of East Asia and other events around the ASEAN summit in October and November every year have become the most important gathering of leaders in the Indo-Pacific region. This year, as Laos is the chair of ASEAN, it was privileged to host all of the ministerial and summit meetings associated with ASEAN. Besides the main summit, this included the high-profile East Asia Summit, ASEAN summits with its dialogue partners and the ASEAN Plus Three Summit with China, Japan and South Korea. The events and what happens around them have changed over the past 15 years from a US-supported, ASEAN-led
Lately, China has been inviting Taiwanese influencers to travel to China’s Xinjiang region to make films, weaving a “beautiful Xinjiang” narrative as an antidote to the international community’s criticisms by creating a Potemkin village where nothing is awry. Such manipulations appear harmless — even compelling enough for people to go there — but peeling back the shiny veneer reveals something more insidious, something that is hard to ignore. These films are not only meant to promote tourism, but also harbor a deeper level of political intentions. Xinjiang — a region of China continuously listed in global human rights reports —
RSS