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
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, was arrested in Boston last month amid US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday. The arrest of Liou was first made public on the official Web site of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday. ICE said Liou was apprehended for overstaying her visa. The Boston Field Office’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) had arrested Liou, a “fugitive, criminal alien wanted for embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes in Taiwan,” ICE said. Liou was taken into custody
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
TAIWAN ADVOCATES: The resolution, which called for the recognition of Taiwan as a country and normalized relations, was supported by 22 Republican representatives Two US representatives on Thursday reintroduced a resolution calling for the US to end its “one China” policy, resume formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan and negotiate a bilateral Taiwan-US free trade agreement. Republican US representatives Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania’s 10th District were backed by 22 Republican members of the US House of Representatives. The two congressmen first introduced the resolution together in 2021. The resolution called on US President Donald Trump to “abandon the antiquated ‘one China’ policy in favor of a policy that recognizes the objective reality that Taiwan is an independent country, not
The US-Japan joint statement released on Friday not mentioning the “one China” policy might be a sign that US President Donald Trump intends to decouple US-China relations from Taiwan, a Taiwanese academic said. Following Trump’s meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Friday, the US and Japan issued a joint statement where they reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations. Trump has not personally brought up the “one China” policy in more than a year, National Taiwan University Department of Political Science Associate Professor Chen Shih-min (陳世民)