3096 Edition
June 27-July 3, 2011
General Assembly News
PCT issues public statement on the plasticizer-tainted foods scandal
Reported by Lin Yi-ying
Written by Lydia Ma
The first session of the 56th PCT General Assembly Executive Committee passed a motion to publish “PCT’s open response letter on the plasticizer scandal” on June 22, 2011. PCT General Assembly Moderator, Rev. Chiohh Lyiam-syian, said this scandal has wrought severe repercussions on Taiwan and the extent of damage and loss is incalculable.
To make matters worse, the government has yet to issue a public apology, further intensifying people’s sense of pessimism about the government’s competence. There are speculations that foods containing traces of plasticizers may date back to as early as 20 years ago, prompting Taiwanese to wonder whether they can trust government inspection labels on foods.
Chiohh said the PCT had wanted to issue a public response when the scandal first hit the news, but chose to wait and give the government the benefit of the doubt. But so far, government response has been disappointing to say the least and Taiwan’s reputation has been tarnished by the Ma administration’s sluggish and insincere reaction.
“At the end of the day, it’s the plasticizing of the heart that’s scary,” said PCT General Assembly Secretary Andrew Chang when referring to greedy traders who care only about their own profit and don’t think twice about putting the health of the public in peril. He said this was one of the consequences of an administration that kept touting on the importance of economic growth at all costs – including the darkening of the human heart.
The statement emphasized PCT’s concern that this scandal had damaged Taiwan’s reputation abroad – especially the international community’s perception of Taiwanese workers as good-hearted and hard-working people.
It went on to urge the national government to investigate and hold public officials accountable for dereliction of duty.
Quoting Micah 6:8 and Deuteronomy 4:9, the statement concluded with a call repent from seeking economic growth at all costs and to turn toward pursuing justice and peace above all else instead.
Earlier this year, in May, a FDA inspector in Taiwan uncovered an illegal cost-cutting practice at a few companies in Taiwan – that is, adding plasticizers to clouding agents. Though clouding agents in foods are legal and often used to make foods and beverages more appealing, plasticizers are not for foods and are usually used only for industrial purposes. As of June 1, Taiwan’s FDA has identified 506 food products from 215 companies with traces of these plasticizers.
