The Taichung City Government has dismissed three senior officials for mishandling the city’s response to an African swine fever (ASF) outbreak, Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) said yesterday.
Agriculture Bureau Director Chang Ching-chang (張敬昌), Environmental Protection Bureau Director Chen Hung-yi (陳宏益), and Taichung City Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office Director Lin Ju-liang (林儒良) were removed from their posts, effective immediately, for failing to follow central government epidemic prevention guidelines and creating significant risks, the city government said.
Lu said that following the gradual lifting of restrictions on pig transport and slaughter, “citizens and industries can begin to return to normal life.”
Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
“The most important task in this prevention effort was to contain the outbreak and prevent the virus from spreading,” she said, referring to the pig farm in the city’s Wuci District (梧棲) where several dead pigs tested positive for ASF on Oct. 21, prompting authorities to ban the transport and slaughter of pigs nationwide.
“Taichung and the central government worked completely united to accomplish this mission,” Lu said. “I am deeply grateful for the central government’s guidance and assistance, and at the same time, I thank the many county and city leaders, people’s representatives, industry figures, and citizens for their concern and encouragement.”
Lu said she was sorry that the city “did not perform well enough” in its ASF prevention work and that as mayor she “must take full responsibility and apologize.”
Personnel changes had been made, and the outbreak investigation was being accelerated, she said, adding that the results would be made public, he said.
Lu also said she would take the incident as a “lesson.”
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taichung City Councilor Wang Li-jen (王立任) accused Lu of delaying prevention efforts by attending an event for the Taichung Shopping Festival, while DPP City Councilor Chiang Chao-kuo (江肇國) alleged that the city government “kept concealing and evading” the issue until the central government intervened.
DPP City Councilor Lin Te-yu (林德宇) said the timing of the two bureau directors’ dismissals coincided with “Lu’s political damage control” and was “very inappropriate.”
Meanwhile, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taichung City Councilor Lee Chung (李中) said his party respected the mayor’s authority and urged the city to learn from the incident.
The outbreak showed that departments’ initial response was “disorganized,” Lee said, adding that dismissing the officials for administrative negligence was an appropriate measure.
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