The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus yesterday called on the Control Yuan to investigate Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) and Food and Drug Administration Director Wu Shou-mei (吳秀梅) over alleged dereliction of duty regarding a small company’s bid to procure rapid COVID-19 test kits.
The KMT on Wednesday questioned Golden Global Biomedicine Co’s (高登環球生醫) eligibility to join the bidding process to import 17 million COVID-19 screening kits.
The KMT said the company had neither the funding — it only has capital of NT$2 million (US$67,431) — nor the expertise, as it was a food stall before becoming a biomedical company.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Golden Global on Wednesday said it was backing out of the bid, adding that the KMT should join the bid itself “for the good of the Taiwanese people.”
How Golden Global acquired the information about the contract — a major investment into government purchases — is unknown, KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Lin Szu-ming (林思銘) said.
KMT Legislator Sandy Yeh (葉毓蘭) said that in her experience, the public should not be surprised that Chen could be “deceived” by Golden Global, adding that studies show that the higher one stands on the socioeconomic scale, the more susceptible they are to being fooled.
KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Cheng Cheng-chien (鄭正鈐) said he was shocked to hear that a company with such little capital was bidding for a project estimated to be worth NT$1.6 billion.
“Just the process of delivery is estimated at NT$90 million,” Cheng said.
KMT caucus whip William Tseng (曾銘宗) called for the Control Yuan to launch an investigation into the issue.
KMT headquarters yesterday held a separate news conference, in which KMT deputy secretary-general Alicia Wang (王育敏) said that only 3 million people had obtained rapid test kits using their National Health Insurance cards, leaving 20 million people without.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said 100 million rapid test kits have been purchased, but these kits have yet to be delivered to the people, Wang said, adding that Tsai should investigate the issue.
KMT Taipei City Councilor Hsu Hung-ting (徐弘庭) suggested that the government have buyers of rapid test kits sign pledges that the kits are for self-use, and to begin importing test kits approved by the EU and the US.
Allowing such imports on a small scale could allow people to have rapid test kits mailed from abroad, Hsu said.
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