week7-Gutter oil

Taiwanese ‘gutter oil’ scandal spreads to Hong Kong, Macau

AFP, HONG KONG

Pineapple buns and dumplings have been pulled from the shelves in Hong Kong as authorities check whether they contain what media are referring to as “gutter oil” that has sparked a growing regional food safety scare, officials said yesterday.

An investigation was launched after oil from a Taiwanese company accused of using illegally recycled products — including fat collected from grease traps — was exported to the territory.

Taiwanese authorities say a factory in Greater Kaohsiung illegally used 243 tonnes of tainted products to mix with lard oil in a case that has reignited regional concerns about food safety.

The lard oil — a clear oil pressed from pig fat — was supplied to at least 900 restaurants and bakeries in Taiwan. The owner of the factory was arrested on Sunday.

The scare has now spread to Hong Kong, with local chains forced to pull products from their shelves and experts ramping up spot checks.

Philip Ho, an officer from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, told Radio Television HK yesterday that dozens of food samples had been taken, with results expected in the next few days.

The government’s Centre for Food Safety is also conducting tests on mooncakes from retailers across the territory. The pastries are consumed in vast numbers during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Popular bakery chain Maxim's Cakes removed pineapple buns from its shelves over the weekend after confirming it had used oil from Chang Guann Co (強冠企業), the Taiwanese oil manufacturer at the heart of the scandal.

Macau’s Food Safety Centre said 21 bakeries and food manufacturers had bought oil from Chang Guann through a local importer.

Shoppers in Hong Kong said they were increasingly concerned about the safety of food, especially imported products.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2014/09/09/2003599324

Structure of the Lead：

when-yesterday
what-Pineapple buns and dumplings have been pulled from the shelves
who-authorities
why-check whether they contain what media are referring to as “gutter oil” that has sparked a growing regional food safety scare
how-not given
where-Hong Kong

Keywords：

1. grease trap     隔油地
2. tainted     被污染的
3. lard oil     豬油
4. reignite     重燃
5. pastry     糕點

Week6-Drug arrest

Taiwan, HK celebs in Beijing drug bust

By Ted Chen ,The China Post

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The manager of Ko Chen-tung (柯震東), a Taiwanese actor and singer, in a statement yesterday confirmed rumors that his client had been taken into custody by Beijing authorities for alleged narcotics consumption.

According to a report by China's The Beijing News (新京報), Ko was arrested along with Jaycee Chan (房祖名), a singer and actor from Hong Kong and the son of international kung fu superstar Jackie Chan (成龍). Commentators familiar with the entertainment industry noted that Ko and Chan are close personal friends, and that Chan, who has been residing in Beijing the past few years, is known to frequently host parties.

Reports indicate that both Ko and Chan have been held in 14-day administrative detention in Beijing since last Saturday, and may be released from custody on Aug. 26.

Rumors of Ko and Chan's arrest in Beijing had first gone viral online following a cryptic message that had surfaced on China's leading social media outlet Weibo (微博). The message's author implied that his father was a member of Beijing law enforcement and had just questioned Ko overnight.

Marijuana Discovered in Chan's Beijing Residence

Meanwhile, media reports from China indicate that Ko and Chan were arrested at Chan's Beijing residence as early as last Tuesday, which coincides with the two singers and actors' six-day social media silence. Most notably, reports indicate that the police recovered 100 grams of marijuana from Chan's Beijing residence, an amount deemed to be more than what is plausible for personal consumption, and may have severe legal consequences for Chan, ranging from three to five years of imprisonment to the death penalty if Chinese prosecutors find evidence that Chan intended to distribute the narcotics. In addition, Chinese media reports suggest that urine tests revealed that Chan and Ko had both consumed marijuana.

Ko's management apologized to the public for his misstep and failure to uphold expectations as a role model, while claiming ignorance of his alleged narcotics consumption. Ko's father also issued an apology and expressed regret to the public, and stated that the rising star will face all legal consequences.

Ko first rose to stardom following his role as male lead in 2011's Taiwanese film “You are the Apple of My Eye” ( 那些年，我們一起追的女孩). The film was directed by Taiwanese novelist Giddens Ko (九把刀), who expressed his disbelief and disappointment at Ko Chen-tung's misstep.

Entertainment commentators noted that Ko's rising stardom, in particular in the vast China market, may come to an abrupt halt following his drug arrest. Commentators stated that China's sweeping narcotics crackdown will likely spell doom for Ko's career in the mainland, as convicted offenders are blacklisted.

Incidentally, Ko starred in a government anti-drug campaign, while in 2009 China's National Narcotics Control Commission had selected Jackie Chan as its anti-drug ambassador.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2014/08/19/415224/Taiwan-HK.htm

Structure of the Lead：

where-in a statement

when-yesterday

what-confirmed rumors that his client had been taken into custody by Beijing authorities

why-for alleged narcotics consumption

who-The manager of Ko Chen-tung (柯震東), a Taiwanese actor and singer

how-not given

Keywords：

1. custody     保管
2. narcotics     毒品
3. administrative detention     行政拘留
4. viral     病毒
5. cryptic     神秘的
6. marijuana     大麻
7. plausible     合理的
8. prosecutor     檢察官
9. abrupt halt     突然的停止
10. crackdown     鎮壓
11. ambassador     大使

week5-Ebola

Elaborate Ebola claims all lies: CDC

Staff writer, with CNA

A suspected Ebola case reported to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) appears to be a hoax after a test on a young man hospitalized on Friday came back negative, a health official said yesterday.

The 19-year-old student now faces a fine of between NT$10,000 and NT$150,000 under the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法), which requires people to provide factual information about communicable diseases.

CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said that the test was negative after samples were rushed to a lab in Taipei early in the morning.

The young man’s story about traveling in Africa and eating bat meat are now believed to have been entirely made up.

Chuang said earlier that a search based on the personal information provided by the man yielded no record of him ever leaving Taiwan, despite claims that he had recently been to Nigeria. It turns out that he does not even have a passport, Chuang added.

The claim was also suspicious because Nigeria was declared Ebola-free in October, even as other west African nations continue to battle the spread of the virus.

It was not immediately clear why the young man had given false information to doctors at Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, where he was admitted late on Friday.

If the test results had come back positive, the man would have been the nation’s first Ebola case.

The student, who is said to have taken an extended leave from school, has shown no symptoms since being hospitalized and has given contradictory accounts of his condition and purported travels, Chuang said.

The man told doctors in Greater Kaohsiung that he had recently traveled to Nigeria, where he ate a meal made from bat meat. Bats are known to be carriers of the Ebola virus, which has caused about 6,200 deaths this year, mainly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

The man complained of a fever and other symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea, the hospital said.

Even though the man had not traveled to the three West African nations still listed as having ongoing Ebola outbreaks, the hospital reported the suspected case to the CDC at about midnight on Friday after careful evaluation, Kaohsiung Department of Health official Tsai Wu-hsiung (蔡武雄) said.

As a precaution, the patient had been placed in a negative pressure isolation ward, officials said.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2014/12/07/2003606151

Structure of the Lead：

when-yesterday

what-A suspected Ebola case reported to the Centers for Disease Control appears to be a hoax after a test on a young man hospitalized on Friday came back negative

who-not given

where-not given

why-not given

how-not given

Keywords：

1. hoax     惡作劇

2.factual     真實的

3.purported     聲稱的