2014年12月24日 星期三

week7_Chang Guann, gutter oil

Chang Guann ‘sorry’ for tainted lard oil

GUTTER INGREDIENTS:The Greater Kaohsiung company said it was recalling all of its Chuan Tung ‘fragrant lard oil’ that have an expiry date prior to March 1 next year

By Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Chang Guann Co (強冠企業), a food oil manufacturer in Greater Kaohsiung, yesterday apologized to the public after one of its lard products was allegedly found to be tainted with “gutter oil” illegally recycled by an unlicensed factory in Pingtung County.
Gutter oil, also known as drainage oil, is recycled oil collected from various sources such as kitchen fryers, restaurant drains and grease traps. It is mainly used in the production of soap.
“We only began purchasing lard from the Pingtung factory on Feb. 25 this year. As of last month, a total of 243 tonnes of lard had been bought from the factory, 216 tonnes of which have been used as a base oil in the manufacturing of 780 tonnes of edible lard oil,” the company based in Daliao District (大寮) said in a press release.
There was an immediate trickle-down effect after Chang Guann Co’s apology. Wei Chuan Foods Corp (味全食品工業) said it had immediately pulled 12 pork floss and meat paste products from stores.
Wei Chuan has purchased oil products that have been found to have questionable ingredients from Chang Guann Co and used them in the 12 products, so it decided to temporarily stop sales for the products and accept returns from consumers, Wei Chuan said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
The company said it had informed Taipei’s Public Health Bureau and would fully cooperate with the government regarding inspection on these products.
Wei Chuan said it will consider seeking reimbursement from Chang Guann to protect its rights and interests if the oil products purchased from Chang Guann are confirmed to have included the suspect ingredients.
Chang Guann said the 780 tonnes of processed lard oil were divided into 51,700 cartons and marketed as “fragrant lard oil” (香豬油) under its cooking oil brand, Chuan Tung (全統), and that 48,500 cartons had been sold.
“We are also a victim in this case. Although not all of our fragrant lard oil products contain the alleged gutter oil, to safeguard consumers’ interest, on Tuesday we ordered the recall of all products with an expiration date before March 1 next year,” the company said.
The statement was issued just hours after Chang Guann deputy general manager Tai Chi-chuan (戴啟川) was summoned for questioning by the Pingtung District Prosecutors’ Office, following a raid carried out by the Criminal Investigation Bureau’s southern crime combat center on the unlicensed factory in Pingtung.
The factory’s owner, Kuo Lieh-cheng, (郭烈成) and an employee surnamed Shih (施) were also questioned yesterday, along with Kuo Chun-yeh (郭春葉), the owner of animal feed manufacturer Ching Wei Co (進威) — which allegedly bought gutter oil from the same factory for use in its pig feed products — Kuo’s wife and an employee surnamed Su (蘇), Pingtung Chief District Prosecutor Yang Wan-li (楊婉莉) said.
“The office joined hands with the Food and Drug Administration [FDA] and the health departments of Pingtung and Greater Kaohsiung to investigate whether the factory sold gutter oil disguised as lard, and where and to whom such products were sold,” Yang said.
FDA Southern Center Deputy Director Liu Fang-ming (劉芳銘) said a preliminary investigation showed that Chang Guann’s fragrant lard oil products manufactured between March 1 and Aug. 29 could have been mixed with the alleged gutter oil.
“Since the potentially contaminated products were packaged in 15kg and 16kg cartons, they were likely to have been sold to small restaurants or eateries rather than consumers,” Liu said.
If Chang Guann bought the suspect lard without knowing what it really was, the company’s owners might only be subject to a fine ranging from NT$60,000 (US$2,000) to NT$50 million, as stipulated in Article 15 of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法), Liu said.
“However, if the firm was aware of the lard’s real contents and still used it to manufacture cooking oil, its owners could face a maximum prison term of seven years,” he said.

Structure of the lead:

WHO-Chang Guann Co (強冠企業)
WHAT-apologized to the public
WHEN-yesterday
WHERE-not given
WHY-one of its lard products was allegedly found to be tainted with “gutter oil” illegally recycled 
HOW-by an unlicensed factory in Pingtung County.

Keywords:

  1. gutter:排水溝
  2. tainted:污染的
  3. drainage:下水道
  4. reimbursement:賠償
  5. contaminated:受到污染的
  6. stipulated:規定
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2014年12月17日 星期三

week6_Scottish, independence, referendum

UK’s democracy a high standard

By Chang Kuo-tsai 張國財

The result of the Scottish independence referendum, which has been a focus of attention around the world, is now known, with the pro-union side who voted “no” to independence emerging as the winners. Setting aside the result, there are many aspects of the process that could prove enlightening for Taiwanese.
Scotland has been part of the UK for 307 years. Confronted with the question of whether Scotland should leave the union and become independent, political leaders in London did not demand that the issue should be voted on by all British people. It was taken for granted that it was up to Scotland to decide for itself.
By the same measure, is it not equally obvious that Taiwan’s future should be decided by the 23 million Taiwanese? Who else could make the decision?
In the referendum, the minimum age for voting was 16, not 18 or 20. That is quite a contrast with Taiwan, where men aged 18 are obliged to perform military service, but do not have the right to vote. This is a clear discrepancy and imbalance between rights and duties.
The polls in Scotland were open all day on Thursday from 7am to 10pm so that people working in all professions could find time to vote, no matter whether they work in the daytime, evening or at night. This is different from Taiwan, where all elections are held between 8am and 4pm on Saturdays, thus depriving those who have to work normal hours on Saturday of the right to vote.
The Scottish independence referendum was not encumbered by restrictive thresholds, and the referendum question — “Should Scotland be an independent country?” — did not beat around the bush. The outcome of the vote — “yes” or “no” — was decided by a simple majority. Not so in Taiwan.
When will the nation break free from the bonds of its “birdcage” referendums, beset as they are with schemes and impediments?
In the run-up to the referendum, the pro-union and pro-independence sides in Scotland were free to pull out all the stops to get their respective messages across, with plenty of opinion polls available for reference.
No matter whether Scottish people voted “yes” or “no,” by their 84.6 percent turnout they announced to the world that they were determined to decide their own future.
Why would they allow anyone else to decide it for them?
When the Scottish Parliament announced that an independence referendum would be held, political leaders in London did not issue intimidating threats or call for repression by force. No nonsense about blood being thicker than water, or accusations of forgetting one’s roots were heard. Rather, their campaign involved appeals to sentiment along with discussion of the pros and cons.
The UK might not enjoy the stature it once did, but the example it has set by the conduct of this referendum shows that it is a civilized country indeed.
Chang Kuo-tsai is a retired associate professor of National Hsinchu University of Education and a former deputy secretary-general of the Taiwan Association of University Professors.
Translated by Julian Clegg

Structure of the lead:

WHO-not given
WHAT-The result of the Scottish independence referendum
WHEN-not given
WHERE-not given
WHY-not given
HOW-many aspects of the process that could prove enlightening for Taiwanese

Keywords:

  1. referendum:公民投票權
  2. discrepancy:差異
  3. encumbered:妨礙
  4. threshold:門檻
  5. impediment:阻礙



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2014年12月10日 星期三

week5_Nigerian girls, Chibox, kidnapped, Boko Haram

Boko Haram seizes kidnapped girls’ hometown, Chibok

AP, MAIDUGURI, Nigeria

Islamic extremists in Nigeria have seized Chibok, forcing thousands of people to flee the town where insurgents kidnapped nearly 300 schoolgirls in April, a local official said on Friday.
The Boko Haram insurgents entered the town on Thursday, shooting from pickup trucks and motorcycles, Chibok local government chairman Bana Lawan said.
“Nobody can tell you what is happening there today because everybody is just trying to escape with their lives,” he said.
In Washington, US Department of State spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the US is closely monitoring the situation in Chibok.
“We condemn these attacks in Chibok, a community that has already suffered too much... We remain committed to helping the government of Nigeria address the threat posed by extremist organizations, Psaki told reporters.
In a separate development, a bomb exploded on Friday night in northern Kano City, the second-largest population center in Nigeria, killing six people, including three police officers, the police said.
Resident Aliyu Yusuf Hotoro said many buildings shook from the force of the explosion from a car bomb in a gas station on a main road leading to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. Soldiers, police and emergency rescue operations workers cordoned off the area.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bomb, but Boko Haram extremists have detonated them in Kano in the past.
Meanwhile, attempts to call the cellphones of some of the kidnapped girls’ parents living in Chibok failed. Boko Haram extremists often destroy cellphone towers, and the military often cuts communications to areas under attack.
Dozens of the kidnapped girls escaped in the first couple of days after their capture from a boarding school just outside the town, but 219 are still missing.
Community leader Hussain Monguno said none of the escapees was in Chibok at the time of the attack. They have all been given scholarships to other schools in northern Nigeria.
Nigeria’s military commander announced on Oct. 17 that the country’s homegrown Boko Haram extremist group had agreed to an immediate ceasefire.
Government officials said the truce would lead to the girls’ speedy release.
However, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau in a video released last month said the girls were “an old story,” that they all had converted to Islam and been married off to his fighters.
At least seven of the girls’ parents have died since their abductions, from causes such as heart attacks that residents blame on the trauma, according to Monguno, head of the Borno-Yobe People’s Forum.
Since the apparent ceasefire announcement, the insurgents have taken control of several more towns and villages where they have declared an Islamic caliphate along the lines of the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
In an area covering about 20,000km2, residents caught behind the militants’ lines say they have set up courts upholding a strict version of Shariah law, publicly amputating the hands of alleged looters and whipping people for infractions such as smoking cigarettes.

Structure of the lead:

WHO-Islamic extremists
WHAT-Islamic extremists in Nigeria have seized Chibok
WHEN-April
WHERE-Nigeria
WHY-not given
HOW-kidnapped nearly 300 schoolgirls

Keywords:

  1. Boko Haram:博科聖地
  2. flee:逃離
  3. insurgents:叛亂者
  4. cordoned off:隔離
  5. abduction:綁架
  6. militant:激進份子
  7. amputating:切斷
  8. looter:掠奪者
  9. infraction:違反

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2014年11月12日 星期三

week4_Malaysia Airlines, MH17, shot down, Ukraine

First bodies of Flight MH17 victims arrive in Netherlands

AP, EINDHOVEN, Netherlands

Two military transport planes carrying 40 coffins bearing victims of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 landed yesterday in the southern city of Eindhoven, while pro-Russian rebels shot down two fighter jets in Ukraine’s restive east as fighting flared in the region.
Six days after the Boeing 777 was shot down over the battlefields of eastern Ukraine, the first bodies finally arrived in the Netherlands, the country that bore the heaviest toll in the crash that killed all 298 passengers and crew.
A Dutch Hercules C-130 that Dutch government spokesman Lodewijk Hekking says carried 16 coffins was the first to land, closely followed by an Australian C-17 Globemaster plane carrying 24 coffins.
British investigators began work on a pair of “black boxes” to retrieve data on the flight’s last minutes, while Dutch officials said they have taken charge of the stalled investigation of the airline disaster and pleaded for unhindered access to the wreckage.
Britain’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch said that Dutch authorities had delivered the plane’s voice and data recorders to the agency’s base at Farnborough, southern England, where the information will be downloaded.
Experts will also check for signs of tampering.
The two military transport planes departed Ukraine at midday, and landed at Eindhoven Air Base where the flights were met by Dutch King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and other government officials.
Hundreds of victims’ relatives were also there, Hekking said.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said two fighter planes were shot down about 30km south of the site of the Malaysia Airlines wreckage.
The separatist Donetsk People’s Republic said in a statement on its Web site that one of the pilots was killed and another was being sought by rebel fighters.
While the insurgents deny having missiles capable of hitting a jetliner at cruising altitude, rebel leader Alexander Borodai has said that separatist fighters do have Strela-10M ground-to-air missiles which are capable of hitting targets up to an altitude of 3,500m.
Separately, senior US intelligence officials on Tuesday said that Russia was responsible for “creating the conditions” that led crash, but they offered no evidence of direct Russian government involvement.
The officials, who briefed reporters under ground rules that their names not be used, said the plane was likely shot down by an SA-11 surface-to-air missile fired by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The officials cited intercepts, satellite photographs and social media postings by separatists, some of which have been authenticated by US experts.

structure of the lead:

WHO-not given
WHAT-Two military transport planes carrying 40 coffins bearing victims of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 landed
WHEN-yesterday
WHERE-southern city of Eindhoven
WHY-pro-Russian rebels shot down two fighter jets in Ukraine’s restive east as fighting flared in the region.
HOW-not given

keywords:

  1. rebel:反叛者
  2. toll:傷亡人數
  3. coffin:棺材
  4. tamper:竄改
  5. separatist:獨立主義者
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2014年11月5日 星期三

week3_nuclear power plant, stop construction, referendum act

Activists want no referendum and no nuclear plant

By Lee I-chia  /  Staff reporter
During the first day of the new legislative session yesterday, anti-nuclear power environmentalists again gathered in front of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, calling on legislators to stop the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市), and withdraw the referendum proposal on the plant.
Taiwan Environmental Protection Union founding chairman Shih Hsin-min (施信民) said the referendum proposal suggested by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Ching-hua (李慶華) is aimed at exploiting the “problematic” Referendum Act (公民投票法), ignoring public opinion and supporting the Cabinet’s will of allowing the plant to go into operation.
Although Lee last week publicly announced that he wished to withdraw the proposal, Shih said the proposal has already passed the first reading and is scheduled for a second reading in this session, so even if Lee claims to want to withdraw the proposal, he still has to go through procedures to make it effective.
“Lee should finish going through the procedures as soon as possible. The Legislative Yuan should acknowledge the public’s wish to bring a halt to the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant project,” he said, urging the KMT caucus not to block the proposal withdrawal.
The protesters said President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) approval rating had already dropped to 9.2 percent and if he does not stop the construction project, it may even plunge lower.
Pan Han-shen (潘翰聲) of the Green Party Taiwan said, ahead of next month’s National Day, that “we do not have anything to celebrate, because we have so many nuclear power plants in the nation and Taiwan is the only country that builds nuclear power plants right next to its capital.”
Pan said the public is invited to join in a “Fourth Nuclear Power Plant termination” relay walk around the nation, ending at the Presidential Office on Jan. 1.

structure of the lead:

WHO-anti-nuclear power environmentalists 
WHEN-yesterday
WHY-calling on legislators to stop the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市), and withdraw the referendum proposal on the plant.
WHAT-gathered in front of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei
WHERE-Legislative Yuan in Taipei
HOW-not given

Keywords:

  1. session:會議
  2. withdraw:撤回
  3. referendum proposal:公民投票提案
  4. exploiting:利用
  5. problematic:有疑問的
  6. halt:終止
  7. termination:結束
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2014年10月29日 星期三

week2_south korea, sewol ferry, disaster

Large death toll feared from South Korean ferry disaster

AFP, JINDO, South Korea

South Korean rescuers, including elite navy SEAL divers, worked frantically under floodlights yesterday in an attempt to find nearly 300 people missing after a ferry sank with 459 on board, mostly high-school students bound for a holiday island.
South Korean Vice Minister of Security and Public Administration Lee Gyeong-og said 164 people had been rescued, leaving 291 “unaccounted for.”
There were four confirmed deaths, including a female crew member and a student. There are fears the confirmed death toll could rise sharply. The 6,825 tonne Sewollisted violently, capsized and finally sank — all within two hours of sending a distress signal at 9am.
“I’m afraid there’s little chance for those trapped inside still to be alive,” senior rescue team official Cho Yang-bok told YTN television as teams of divers struggled to access the submerged ferry.
Television footage showed terrified passengers wearing life jackets clambering into inflatable boats as water lapped over the rails of the vessel as it sank 20km off the southern island of Byungpoong.
Some could be seen sliding down the steeply inclined side of the ferry and into the water, as rescuers, including the crew of what appeared to be a small fishing boat, pulled them to safety.
As night fell, the South Korean Coast Guard said the rescue operation was continuing using floodlights and underwater flares.
Of the 429 passengers on board the ferry bound for the popular southern resort island of Jeju, more than 300 were students traveling with 14 teachers from a high school in Ansan, south of Seoul.
Among those confirmed as rescued, 78 were students.
“I feel so pained to see students on a school trip ... face such a tragic accident. I want you to pour all your energy into this mission,” South Korean President Park Geun-hye said on a visit to the main disaster agency situation room in Seoul.
The cause of the accident was not immediately clear, although rescued passengers reported the ferry coming to a sudden, shuddering halt — indicating that it might have run aground.
The weather was described as fine, with moderate winds and sea swell.
One local official, who took a boat to the site and arrived an hour after the distress signal was sent, said he was “very concerned” about those still missing.
“The ship was already almost totally submerged when I got there. A lot of people must have been trapped,” the official, who declined to be identified, said by telephone.

Structure of the lead:

WHO-South Korean rescuers, including elite navy SEAL divers
WHEN-yesterday
WHAT-worked frantically under floodlights
WHY-find nearly 300 people missing
WHERE-not given
HOW-not given


keywords:


  1. toll:代價
  2. ferry:輪船
  3. confirm:證實
  4. tonne:噸
  5. capsize:翻覆
  6. submerge:淹沒
  7. inflatable boat:充汽艇
  8. aground:觸礁的











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2014年10月22日 星期三

week1_Ukraine,crisis,Russia

Australia labels Russia a ‘bully’ in Ukraine crisis

Sat, Aug 09, 2014
AP, SYDNEY

　　Australia’s prime minister yesterday dubbed Russia “a bully” and threatened stronger sanctions against the country following Russia’s ban on most Western food imports.
The Russian government on Thursday banned most food imports from the West, including the US, EU and Australia, as retaliation against sanctions related to the crisis in Ukraine.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the ban would have a relatively small impact on his country, which last year exported about A$400 million (US$370 million) of agricultural products to Russia — about 1 percent of its total agriculture exports. And he warned Russian President Vladimir Putin to call off the thousands of Russian troops that have amassed at the Ukrainian border, saying that any advancement into Ukraine would amount to an invasion.
“Let’s be very clear about this: Russia has been a bully,” Abbott said. “And I say to President Putin that if he wants to be regarded as a world leader, as opposed to becoming an international outcast: Hold your forces back. Stay behind the border. Let the business of Ukraine be sorted out by Ukrainians.”
Australia was one of several countries that slapped sanctions on Russia amid accusations the country has supplied weapons and expertise to pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine. Last month, the crisis escalated when a Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over rebel-held territory, killing all 298 people on board, including 28 Australian citizens.
Abbott said he was wary of imposing tougher sanctions while Australian police were at the crash site searching for bodies amid the wreckage. However, he plans to take action now.
“We are working towards stronger sanctions,” Abbott said. “Now that our personnel are in the process of returning to the Netherlands after largely completing operation ‘Bring them Home,’ certainly you will find increased sanctions by Australia.”

Structure of the lead:


 WHO-Australia’s prime minister
WHEN-yesterday
WHAT-dubbed Russia “a bully” and threatened stronger sanctions against the country
WHY-Russia’s ban on most Western food imports.
WHERE-not given
HOW-not given

Keywords:

  1. bully:惡霸
  2. dub:授予...綽號
  3. sanction:制裁
  4. retaliation:報復
  5. amass:積聚
  6. invasion:侵略
  7. sort out:解決
  8. separatist:獨立派
  9. personnel:人員










　


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