TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Control Yuan on Wednesday impeached four former Taichung City officials over their handling of an African swine fever outbreak in October.
The nation’s top government watchdog ordered the four to be referred to a disciplinary court for further action, per CNA. The virus was found at a hog farm in Wuqi District in October, in a case believed to be linked to feeding pigs unheated kitchen waste.
The Control Yuan found the four had provided contradictory information about the outbreak, sent their own staff to disinfect farms, and failed to note the high number of hogs dead due to the disease. A total of 117 animals died at the farm within 10 days, leading to a nationwide 15-day ban on the transportation of hogs.
Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) apologized for her administration’s shortcomings, while dismissing Agricultural Bureau Director Chang Ching-chang (張敬昌), Environment Bureau Director Chen Hung-yi (陳宏益), and Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office chief Lin Ju-liang (林儒良). An official at Lin’s department, Chou Pai-chun (周百俊), was the fourth person impeached by the Control Yuan Wednesday.
Statements by the officials at the time were contradicted by experts, while they also took actions that needlessly complicated and delayed other measures targeting the outbreak, the Control Yuan said. Chou failed to obtain a complete view of the problem, leading to mistakes and contradictions in the analysis. The outcome damaged the authority of the government and the effectiveness of measures to contain the outbreak.
As no new cases of African swine fever have been detected since, Taiwan hopes to regain its status as a country free of the virus this year. From May until the Taichung outbreak, Taiwan had been one of the few countries in Asia to be free of African swine fever, classical swine fever, and foot-and-mouth disease simultaneously.
