President Ma Ying-jeou said Sunday that the series of food scandals which have rocked Taiwan for the past two months were regrettable. He was speaking at a campaign rally in the southern city of Tainan in his capacity as chairman of the ruling party – the Kuomintang (KMT).
The campaign stop is just one of many nationwide rallies that the president has attended in the run-up to elections on November 29. Taiwanese voters will head to the polls to elect new county and city chiefs, as well as a host of other local officials. There has been concern within the KMT that the food scandals will have an effect on the ruling party’s chances in the election.
An opposition candidate for city councilor in Tainan staged a protest outside of the KMT rally which the president attended on Sunday. The protestors used deep-fried gingerbread men to symbolize the effect that the food scandals have had on the general public. The latest and most prominent food scandal has involved the sale of cooking oils that contained products that were unfit for human consumption.
President Ma said in a speech on Sunday that he regretted the effect that the scandals have had on the public. But he said it was also up to opposition party mayors to crack down on companies violating food security laws.
The mayor of Tainan is from the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
President Ma said that the government would shoulder the responsibility of dealing with the food scandals. He noted that already a health minister had stepped down as a result of the scandals.
Ma said that the government had already unveiled a plan for controlling the sources of edible oils. Three government agencies have been assigned that task, including the health ministry, agriculture council, and the economics ministry. Ma said that the public can rest assured that the government will reinstate food safety in Taiwan.