Toxic Oil Scandal: Jason Hsu Invites Protest on Ketagawa Boulevard, Chen Chi-mai Counters with Call to Join 'Food Safety Meeting' – No Need for Political Handling

As the scandal over Chung Lian's carcinogenic oil continues to escalate, Taipei Mayor Jason Hsu has announced that the Kuomintang will stage a protest on Ketagawa Boulevard on the 25th and yesterday called Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai to invite him to participate. In response, Chen has invited Hsu to attend today's central government-organized food safety meeting. Speaking to the press today (21st), Chen reiterated that central and local governments should work together to ensure food safety. Instead of immediately resorting to political posturing, addressing the issue directly is what the public truly expects.

Chen recounted the details of yesterday's phone call with Hsu, explaining that Hsu had called in the afternoon to extend the invitation. However, Chen informed Hsu that the Executive Yuan would be convening a food safety meeting at 4 p.m. today, specifically inviting the mayors of the six major cities. Chen suggested that central and local governments must cooperate and establish regional defense mechanisms; otherwise, disputes may arise over coordination in inspection and factory audit procedures.

Chen called on Hsu to attend the food safety meeting, emphasizing the need to jointly identify and improve shortcomings. Reflecting on his tenure as a legislator in 2014, Chen noted that he had pushed for amendments to the Food Safety Act. However, the law has remained largely unchanged since then, and critical issues such as the preventive recall mechanism and the enforcement of self-reporting systems remain inadequately addressed. He urged inspections and verification processes to be further strengthened through legal reforms. Chen therefore recommended that today's meeting presents an excellent opportunity—not only for direct dialogue with the central government but also for inter-city exchanges among local leaders.

Chen highlighted that this food safety incident underscores the importance of inter-city notification mechanisms. When irregularities are detected during inspections, it is essential to promptly inform municipal governments with different jurisdictions. To optimize horizontal coordination, the Executive Yuan meeting serves as a high-quality platform for dialogue. Chen also proposed that if today's food safety briefing proves effective, the central government should establish a regular meeting mechanism in the future, chaired by the Premier or Vice Premier, to periodically discuss food safety issues and share practical experiences with local leaders.

Chen emphasized that in facing the food safety crisis, there is no need to immediately resort to political finger-pointing over responsibility. What matters most to the public is how the problem will be resolved. He urged all participants to use today's Executive Yuan meeting to voice the challenges encountered by local authorities in daily enforcement and food safety operations, jointly review shortcomings, and identify improvement strategies through fact-based discussions—this, he said, is the approach society truly expects.