Wednesday, September 24, 2008

China Apologizes to Taiwan --UPDATED-- Nope

AP reports that China has apologized to Taiwan over the tainted milk scandal.

In Taiwan, authorities said all China-made milk products and vegetable-based proteins had to be tested before they can go back on sale.

The checks on the vegetable-based proteins show the concern over how the problem is spreading.

Taiwanese officials say at least seven Taiwanese companies have imported contaminated proteins from China. They say the proteins are made from corn or other vegetables but may be mixed with tainted milk products to improve their flavor.

China on Wednesday apologized to Taiwanese consumers.

"We feel extremely painful about the damage that the milk powder brought to people in Taiwan. Our government attaches great importance to it and is taking a series of measures to minimize the damage and influence," said Li Weiyi, a spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office.

In Taiwan authorities said all products from China had to be tested? You mean they weren't regularly testing them? After revelation upon revelation of tainted this and adulterated that? There's a reason so many consumers avoid products from China whenever possible.

But don't worry: if it isn't tainted food coming from China, it's a jarring mixture of tissues, brainwashed children, ocean pollution, and nationalist expansion.

UPDATE: No apology here. As Feiren and Maddog both point out in the comments, the Chinese spokesperson did not apologize, merely expressed sympathy of an "I feel your pain" nature. AP appears to have missed badly on that one. Feiren observed:

What crappy reporting. Maybe they should consider hiring some people who can actually read Chinese and understand it. Li said that China was pained tong4xin (痛心). That is an expression of sympathy ('I feel your pain') not at apology dao4qian4(道歉). It's even weaker than 'regret' (悔意). China has not admitted any wrongdoing here.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

大大尼拍的這張從公益路往七期方向照攝非常漂亮

Tim Maddog said...

I call "bullshit" on AP's Gillian Wong ("reporting" from Beijing). I heard Li Weiyi talking about his "痛心," but I didn't hear any form of "道歉" at all. "[A]pologies," my ass.

Wong also writes about how "the problem is spreading," but it's not. It's simply being discovered in the many places where it already exists.

Can anybody say "non-peaceful means?

Tim Maddog

Michael Fahey said...

What crappy reporting. Maybe they should consider hiring some people who can actually read Chinese and understand it. Li said that China was pained tong4xin (痛心). That is an expression of sympathy ('I feel your pain') not at apology dao4qian4(道歉). It's even weaker than 'regret' (悔意). China has not admitted any wrongdoing here.

Michael Turton said...

thanks, BBK!

Unknown said...

That Hengan tissue ad is disgusting. Now I feel defiled.

Tim Maddog said...

Just in case there are any doubters, here's a screenshot from SET News which points out the same thing I said above.

Feiren, are you sure Wong can't read/understand Chinese? I suspect she was merely following the AP tradition of inserting, er, "questionable" elements into the story whenever it comes to Taiwan and China.

Tim Maddog

skiingkow said...

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The first Taiwanese victim, perhaps...


Two-year-old girl may be first melamine victim in Taiwan

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TicoExpat said...

Of course, Ma said it was the DPP's administration fault for allowing those products in -though he may have a point if the tests were not performed.

Interesting how conflicting tests are -most companies have a pieceof paper saying their stuff is safe when they bought the raw materials, then get tested, voila, sudenly they are not. Or worse, like a mayor supermarket, where the bags of poweder mil say one story and the paper trail another...

Anonymous said...

If we can assume that Wong is a Chinese speaker, then we are seeing a COMPLETE FABRICATION -- yellow journalism at it worst-- because it's a major news service and presumably the article was RESEARCHED.

Sham on you AP! Michael, who do we contact at AP for correction?

Tommy said...

Even if China HAD apologised, that apology would be too little. Would Taiwanese consumers really accept it?

Many Taiwanese were already skeptical about the quality of Chinese food products as it was. This is like the realisation of the worst fears. Images of poor little babies have become the face of the whole Chinese milk industry. Goodness, what a PR catastrophe! This is the type of thing that takes a decade to undo.

Hong Kong has no choice but to import Chinese food. The Taiwanese at least have enough land to make going local expensive but not impossible.

Anonymous said...

that tissue commercial is disgusting.

Anonymous said...

This is what I grabbed (and translated) from the Chinese blog posts, one that's making the rounds now.
----------------------

中国人在食品中完成了化学扫盲
Chinese Achieved Complete Chemical Literary Through Food Lessons.  
 

从大米里我们认识了石蜡
We learned the importance of petroleum hydrocarbons as food additives to rice.

从火腿里我们认识了敌敌畏
We were taught the essential role of rat poisons in ham.

从咸鸭蛋、辣椒酱里我们认识了苏丹红
Preserved eggs and red pepper sauce were instrumental to our first-hand experience of carcinogenic naphthalenol industrial colorant.

从火锅里我们认识了福尔马林
We learned all about formaldehyde and how it enriched the hot pot cousine.
  
从银耳、蜜枣里我们认识了硫磺
Sulfur was what makes candy plum taste so good.

从木耳中认识了硫酸铜
We were taught the important function of copper sulfate in dried mushrooms. 
 
天三鹿又让同胞知道了三聚氰胺的化学作用
Today, Sanlu brings us a new lesson: the chemical reactions of melamine.

外国人喝牛奶结实了
Foreigners drink milk to become strong.

中国人喝牛奶结石了
Chinese drink milk to develop kidney stones.


日本人口号:一天一杯牛奶振兴一个民族
Japanese slogan: “One glass a milk makes a whole nation strong”.

中国人口号:一天一杯牛奶, 震惊一个民族
Chinese slogan: “One glass a milk scares the whole nation shitless”.

伊利、蒙牛最想对三鹿说什么
There are 3 major milk brands in China: Ellie, MengNiu and Sanlu.
What did Ellie and MengNiu really want to say to Sanlu?


伊利:你他妈加就加了,不能少加点?
Ellie: Why the fuck couldn’t you add a little less melamine to your bulk milk powder?

蒙牛:我从来都是奶粉里加三聚氰胺,你他妈三聚氰胺里加奶粉?
MengNiu: I usually only added melamine to the bulk milk powder. What the fuck did you add milk powder to melamine for?

三鹿(委屈):那天漏斗坏了,没控制住
Sanlu: Hey, it was not done on purpose, OK? The measuring funnel was malfunctioning that day. The control was off.

Alice30forever said...

LOL for your (serious) joke, Stone.
The worry is that we are only see the tip of the iceberg... What will be the next product to be called???