Most hypermarkets in Taipei City and County are not properly equipped to deal with fires, with the most serious problems being found at RT-Mart's Jhonghe (中和) store and Carrefour's Tucheng (土城) store, according to the results of a survey released yesterday by the Consumers' Foundation.
The survey was conducted between July 28 and Monday at 12 hypermarkets in northern Taiwan: the Jhonghe, Keelung (
While RT-Mart's Jhonghe store and Carrefour's Tucheng store received failing grades in six of 20 safety categories, Megaful's Sanchong store and Geant's Zhongxiao store got failing grades in five categories, and RT-Mart's Keelung store and Geant's Banciao failed in four categories, the survey said.
Failing grades were awarded for shortcomings such as fire hydrants being insufficiently maintained or obstructed by other objects, passageways that were too narrow, emergency exits being blocked, emergency escape facilities not being installed properly and safety signs not being set up at escalators.
Officials from the foundation said that as the fire extinguishers at some stores were covered by large piles of goods, it would be difficult for consumers to locate them in the event of a fire.
Some stores had even used their fire extinguishers as decorations, the officials said. They urged the government to inspect hypermarkets regularly to ensure the safety of consumers.
In response, Carrefour and RT-Mart, the nation's two largest hypermarket operators, said yesterday they would make immediate improvements if the foundation's allegations proved to be true.
Both chains said they conducted safety checks on a regular basis and their safety facilities conformed to regulations.
Carrefour also questioned the accuracy of the report.
"The survey said our Dongxing store in eastern Taipei does not have public toilets. How could that be? Wouldn't our customers complain about it? We wonder whether the foundation really sent people to check these stores," said Lillian Lee (李莉莉), Carrefour's public relations manager, in a telephone interview.
Additional reporting by Jackie Lin
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
RSS