Did the Executive Yuan Pressure Taichung Not to Investigate? Administration Refutes with Timeline, Cho: 'Only Zhonglian Is Covering Up'

The carcinogenic oil scandal involving Zhonglian Oils continues to escalate. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an has initiated the '725 March on Ketagalan Boulevard' protest, and Taichung Mayor Lu Hsiu-yen has responded via Facebook, accusing the central government of repeatedly pressuring local authorities 'not to inspect factories, not to disclose product distribution, and not to recall toxic oil.' In response, Premier Cho Jung-tai stated on the 18th that only Zhonglian Oils is covering up, and that all levels of government are not concealing information. He emphasized that the government has only expanded mandatory and precautionary recalls, with no consideration of relaxation, and that central and local governments are cooperating, with no competition over speed.

Did the central government really pressure local authorities not to inspect factories?

Regarding Lu Hsiu-yen's three accusations, Executive Yuan spokesperson Lee Hui-chih issued a written rebuttal last night, firmly denying the claims as false. She stated that the Ministry of Health and Welfare received notification on June 30 and immediately conducted a joint factory inspection with Taichung City Government. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also compiled local data, cross-referenced lists, and established a dedicated webpage to provide product distribution and related information. Furthermore, the FDA has progressively required the recall of first-tier and second-tier products, and on July 9 announced a comprehensive precautionary recall of all Zhonglian oil products and related items from April to June.

Lee Hui-chih further responded in an afternoon interview today, stating that after the FDA conducted a joint factory inspection with Taichung on July 1, the FDA held an expert meeting on the 4th. At that time, Taichung City Government claimed they would conduct another inspection on the 5th, but the FDA immediately responded that they had already inspected and would not return unless resumption was approved. The expert meeting had already stated that Zhonglian's resumption was impossible, and Taichung replied, 'We're just checking before approving resumption.' Lee questioned why Taichung was in such a hurry to inspect Zhonglian on the 5th if the expert meeting on the 4th had already ruled out resumption.

Yilan County uncovers new batch numbers from Zhonglian — Cho: 'No other counties showing such diligence'

After saying 'deeply sorry' in a morning interview yesterday, Premier Cho stated this morning that regarding this food safety incident, he had already clearly explained the timeline and government response in a legislative report. 'Yesterday, I apologized because various administrative levels failed to identify all batch numbers immediately and failed to cross-check the 29 batches provided by Zhonglian, resulting in omissions that allowed local governments to discover unreported products. I deeply apologize for this, and all levels of government should take administrative responsibility.'

Cho pointed out that on July 15, Yilan County discovered an oil product dated April 1 in the recalled items, a batch number completely absent from Zhonglian's reported 29 batches, indicating Zhonglian deliberately delayed reporting and concealed information by not fully disclosing all product batches — a highly irresponsible act. But if the April 1 batch was found in Yilan, could other counties have missed it? To date, no other counties have shown such diligence in inspection. 'Therefore, I am urging all counties and cities to re-examine all recalled items for any other new batch numbers.'

Cho: Cooperation was good during Taichung's African swine fever outbreak — hope for same collaboration this time

Regarding Chiang Wan-an's call for a 'I am human, I oppose toxic oil' rally on Ketagalan Boulevard on July 25, Cho made three points, emphasizing that only Zhonglian Oils and a few other oil companies are covering up, and that all levels of government are not. He stated that after Taichung City Government received notification on June 30, the FDA joined Taichung officials on July 1 to demand Zhonglian halt operations immediately and to complete the first-tier product recall by noon on the 3rd. 'There was no possibility of cover-up — only Zhonglian is covering up.'

Cho clarified that the government has only expanded mandatory and precautionary recalls, with no consideration of relaxation. He explained that after the first-tier recall was completed on the 3rd, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and FDA reported to him that current mechanisms did not meet the criteria for recalling second-tier products. He then instructed them to study whether to expand the recall to second-tier products, leading to the expert meeting on the 4th, the announcement of 360 manufacturers on the 5th, and the full precautionary recall of second-tier products on the 6th.

Cho added that in this incident, central and local governments are only cooperating, with no competition over speed. He stressed the need for complete procedures and accurate information, citing Taichung's African swine fever outbreak in October last year as an example, where central and local governments worked well together to provide accurate data to the public without omissions or errors. 'Like with the swine fever case, there is no speed competition this time either — I only hope central and local governments can cooperate well.'