FOOD SAFETY
Wine vinegar import stopped
A batch of wine vinegar imported from France has been halted at customs after being found to contain excessive amounts of sulfur dioxide, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. The 450kg batch was imported by the hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan, and was found to have 0.107 grams per kilogram (g/kg) of sulfur dioxide, exceeding the 0.03g/kg limit. It was returned or destroyed at the border according to regulations, the FDA said. The substance is used as an antioxidant, bleach and preservative, and to halt fermentation to prevent red wine from becoming too dark, it said. The importer would be subject to 20 to 50 percent inspection at the border, rather than the standard 2 to 10 percent, the FDA said. Meanwhile, a batch of barley grass powder from China, imported by TCI Co was stopped at the border for containing residue of the banned pesticide fluroxypyr-meptyl, it said. A batch of fresh kumquats imported from Japan by Tong Ho Fruit Co was also intercepted for containing the banned pesticide flubendiamide, it added.
Photo courtesy of the Food and Drug Administration
GOVERNMENT
Taipei adds tableware fee
Businesses operating at Taipei City Government agencies, schools and city venues run by outside contractors would be required to charge for disposable tableware, including cutlery and containers, starting from July 22. A fee of at least NT$1 is to be imposed for each disposable container, plate or cutlery in the about 280 designated venues to reduce waste, the city government said on Monday. The measure is expected to cut the use of disposable tableware items by 27 million pieces per year.
RELIGION
Lai wishes pope recovery
President William Lai (賴清德) has expressed the nation’s concern for Pope Francis’ health and offered his wishes for the pope’s swift recovery, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. Francis has remained in critical condition since the weekend, having developed pneumonia in both lungs and other complications, after he was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli University Hospital more than a week ago. Ministry spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said Lai has expressed the concerns of the government and Taiwanese over the pope’s health through the country’s embassy in the Vatican and is praying for his swift recovery. Ambassador Mathew Lee (李世明) took part in a recitation of the Rosary for Pope Francis in St Peter’s Square led by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin beginning on Monday night, Hsiao said.
DIPLOMACY
European delegates arrive
The first group of lawmakers from the European Parliament this year has arrived in Taiwan for five-day trip, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. Led by Renew Europe vice president Ivars Ijabs of Latvia, the delegation also includes European Parliament members Hannes Heide of Austria, Arkadiusz Mularczyk of Poland and Vladimir Prebilic of Slovenia, the ministry said in a news release. Aside from meeting with senior government officials, the members are also to meet with lawmakers and local non-governmental organizations to exchange views on Taiwan-EU relations, geopolitics and technological innovation, it said. The ministry said it welcomed the group’s visit and thanked the European Parliament for supporting Taiwan, including passing resolutions that voiced concerns over China’s escalation of tensions across the Taiwan Strait. It also expressed support for further deepening the Taiwan-EU partnership.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
Taiwan is doing everything it can to prevent a military conflict with China, including building up asymmetric defense capabilities and fortifying public resilience, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said in a recent interview. “Everything we are doing is to prevent a conflict from happening, whether it is 2027 or before that or beyond that,” Hsiao told American podcaster Shawn Ryan of the Shawn Ryan Show. She was referring to a timeline cited by several US military and intelligence officials, who said Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had instructed the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to be ready to take military action against Taiwan
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