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.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
RSS