Thousands rally in Taipei over tainted cooking oil scandal

Thousands gathered in Taipei on Saturday for a rally organized by the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), which blamed the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for the government’s handling of a recent tainted cooking oil scandal. The scandal emerged in late June after a batch of soybean oil was found to contain excessive levels of the carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene. Additional contaminated batches were later identified, prompting widespread recalls and affecting businesses and schools across Taiwan. Both central and local authorities have faced criticism over their response.