Welcome to the Daily Bloom! The Daily Bloom will be a daily shortform blog with updates on the day’s political going-ons. If something particularly exciting happening in Taiwan, we will be providing live updates on our Facebook page and Twitter account. At the end of the day, we will compile the live updates to provide a chronological timeline of the day’s events. If not, we will simply report on what happened that day, or what might be of note that happened. If you have news tips about what would be interesting to cover, send to [email protected]!
July 16, 2014
According to the Taiwanese FDA, food safety quality sub-par in meat production factories. Only two out of eighty-six factories passed safety standards, fifteen were far short of standards, and seventy-one had minor flaws. Food safety was major scandal in 2013, when it was found that cooking oil had been adulterated by nine major producers and in 2011, when it was found that the plasticizer DEHP was being used in food and drinks instead of palm oil. While there was public responses in the 2013 scandal, and punishments promised, there has been few indicators of reform carried through in at least the media.
Controversy over independence platform in the DPP. Former DPP legislators Kuo Jeng-liang (Julian Kuo) and Chen Zau-nan propose removing the independence clause in the DPP constitution in order to increase chances of victory in the 2016 election, as while the platform of Taiwanese independence is deeply embedded in the history of the DPP, it remains controversial. Even former president Chen Shui-Bian, the one DPP president in Taiwanese history, and who is sometimes seen as being too “pro-Taiwanese,” did not have independence as part of his platform. Current DPP legislator Chen Ting-Fei, also in favor of removing the clause, cited Taiwan as being de facto independent, which rendered the clause irrelevant.
White Wolf Chang An-lo in news again after Australian newspaper reports on connections to CCP. Chang An-lo achieved infamy in the 1980s for orchestrating political assassinations for the KMT, but after fleeing to mainland China and staying there for 17 years, has become close with some of the sons of the former high elite Communist officials of the preceding generation, unofficially known as “princelings.” Though only free on bail, he now leads the pro-China Chinese Unification Promotion Party. Chang is known to be close to the sister of Taiwanese President and head of the KMT Ma Ying-Jeou, Ma Yi-Nan.
Taipei ranked fifteen in world’s top travel destinations, according to Mastercard Worldwide. Taipei comes fifteen to London, Bangkok, Paris, Singapore, Dubai, New York, Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Seoul, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Milan and Rome. Taipei has risen from 18 to 15 in the past year.