In a bid to battle the problem of counterfeit rice wines that are thought to have killed several people in Ilan County, the Executive Yuan yesterday established a task force to crack down on bootleg rice wines.
Local governments are currently in charge of investigating counterfeit wines, while the Ministry of Finance is responsible for issuing brewing licenses and quality control.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
The Cabinet is studying the possibility of reducing taxes on distilled liquor, including rice wine.
The tobacco and wine tax of the rice wine is NT$150 per liter and will go up to NT$185 per liter in 2004.
Statistics made available by the National Police Administration yesterday showed that between January and November the police found 158 people suspected of illegally making 44,000kg of fake rice wines, including finished and semi-finished products, with an estimated market price of NT$90 million.
As of Sept. 30, nearly 300 people have been indicted for illegally manufacturing wine and tobacco.
Addressing a press conference at the Executive Yuan yesterday afternoon, Cabinet Spokesman Chuang Shuo-hang (
"Since the government's job is to ensure public health and safety, we don't allow unlicensed brewers to manufacture poor quality wines and jeopardize public health," Chuang said.
According to Susan Chang (
The Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corp -- formerly the government alcohol monopoly Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Board -- will join local health departments to offer free rice-wine tests.
The service will be available today and run through to the end of the year.
According to Hwang Ing-san (
"If we find any fake wine, we'll report it and let the judicial system take over," Hwang said.
Those who manufacture fake wines and cause physical damage to, or death of, an individual will face prosecution, said Vice Minister of Justice Hsieh Wen-ting (謝文定).
The Cabinet is considering more severe sentences for those unauthorized to manufacture, import or sell wines.
The Cabinet is also considering raising the bounties for investigators and individuals to encourage them to report cases.
In a bid to help consumers differentiate real wine from fraudulent bottles, the Cabinet is also considering establishing an identification system.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance yesterday requested the manufacturer of the Verolin brand rice wine to immediately stop production and sale of its products and recall those already in the market within seven days.
The ministry also called on the public to stay clear of the product, saying that it contains excessive levels of methanol, which is believed to be the component that caused the deaths in Ilan County.
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
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