Taipei’s school lunch program has run into trouble yet again. This time, Shilin District’s (士林) Shihtung Elementary School (士東國小) was exposed by parents on social media for serving rotten, blackened pears. The incident once again sparked criticism about food safety in Taipei schools and the quality of the city’s free lunch policy.
Free school lunches for all elementary and junior-high schools is a flagship policy announced by Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) in January, but at the time it attracted criticism from other administrative regions. Since the policy’s official implementation last month, the city — which has the largest budget of any local government in the nation — has been plagued by controversies. There have been multiple reports of food poisoning, and an incident in which students received just three blueberries as their serving of fruit. The education commissioner’s response that the “blueberries were larger” sparked outrage.
In contrast, other administrative regions have not experienced the same issues. In Tainan, which is governed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), schoolchildren enjoy tasty, filling and safe meals.
With just over one month remaining before election day, the rotten-pear incident is bound to impact Chiang’s electoral prospects. Chiang still lacks a grasp of municipal affairs. He has also become a laughingstock for repeatedly giving answers that miss the point of the questions. The member of the “Chiang family,” as the argument goes, truly embodies the Taiwanese saying, “a rotten pear pretending to be an apple.”
John Yu is a civil servant in Taipei.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen