Controversies surrounding Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corp (TAPM) general manager Wu Yin-ning (吳音寧) continued, as Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday questioned the Council of Agriculture’s (COA) ability to control the company.
Wu became TAPM general manager in June last year after she was referred by COA Deputy Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲), and has since early this year been facing questioning from Taipei city councilors regarding vegetable prices and his integrity.
Ko has repeatedly said that he did not appoint Wu and that the city government has limited control over the company, so it is unfair for it to be blamed for the company’s management.
The Taipei Market Administration Office on Friday last week fined TAPM NT$1.15 million (US$37,592) for failing to give city councilors requested information in a timely manner, but the company refused to pay the fine, saying that it was legally baseless.
Ko on Wednesday confirmed that the municipality earlier this month proposed that the COA sell its 22.76 percent stake in TAPM to it so that it could better control the company.
However, Chen on Thursday said that the firm’s shareholding structure has remained the same since it was established, so the council would not sell its share.
The municipality should consider selling its share to the council, Chen added.
He also said that the city government’s plan to spend NT$20 billion on a wholesale market renovation project should be reviewed to determine whether it would substantially contribute to the company’s policy objectives.
Furthermore, the project could take up to seven years, causing business volume to fall by one-third over the period, he added.
“He cannot even control Wu Yin-ning, I wonder if his ability is also...” Ko said yesterday in response to Chen’s comments, abruptly ending his sentence halfway and shaking his head.
“If the council wants to purchase the city government’s share, does it mean that it also intends to buy all the shares controlled by farmers’ associations nationwide?” Ko asked.
Chen should publish a plan to restructure the company if he is dissatisfied with the municipality’s plans, Ko said.
Although city councilors sometimes ask tough questions, she still has to respond, so whether Wu likes it or not, she should have the ability to face them, Ko added.
Separately yesterday, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) on Facebook said that Ko’s claim that he cannot make Wu report to the city council is absurd and vowed to remove Wu from her post if elected in November.
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
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
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
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