Following the tragedy, Legislator Hsu Yung-ming questioned the Minister of Council of Agriculture Chen Chi-chung if the government had provided adequate safety precautions. Chen said they have sealed off the bridge for safety inspections in Aowanda as well as 12 other forest recreation areas.
A young boy fell off the bridge at the Aowanda National Forest Recreation Area and died. The cause of his death is still under investigation, but the New Party Power (NPP) legislator Hsu Yung-ming questioned if the government did provide adequate safety precautions as it encouraged children under the age of 12 to enter the park by offering free admissions. Minister of Council of Agriculture Chen Chi-chung was questioned during the Economic Committee session at the Legislative Yuan. He promised to carry out a comprehensive inspection.
Not only are we closing the suspension bridge in Aowanda, we are also doing a comprehensive inspections on the other 12 bridges. The inspection will focus on the safety precautions for children. Thank you legislator for your advice. I totally agree on the importance of the safety of basic infrastructures. We must do a comprehensive review on it.
Chen added that visitors to the Recreation Area are insured with accident insurance. There will be an insurance claim of NT$ 4.1 million.
In related news, the Economic Committee is also reviewing the draft amendment to the "Agricultural Production and Certification Act". Farms have been asked to apply for a food processing plant license even if they just want to do simple, primary food processing. The process is complicated and costly. If the draft is passed, the authority in charge will be changed from the Ministry of Economic Affairs to the Council of Agriculture, with loosened application requirements that are easier to meet.
It is hard to apply for a food processing factory when the authority in charge is the Economic Ministry. If you can't apply for a food processing factory, then you can't sell your products.
Even though there is a rule on labelling the origin of the product in the draft, some legislators worry the definition is not specific enough and are demanding the Council of Agriculture to come up with ways of preventing "fake origins" loopholes.
You have to come up with a more specific definition so that some people won't be able to fake the origins of the product. Otherwise why does Madou have an origin seal? It is to prevent other people from faking the origins. (That's because Madou calls for higher price.) Yes, so we have to advertise it.
According to article 11 in the draft, all verified agricultural products must have their place of origin labelled, except for those whose labels already include the location of the manufacturer or the verification plant. Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen pointed out like the price of pomelo in Tainan is higher than in other origins, therefore he hoped the labels can be precise to allow consumers to distinguish different origins.