Consumer Rights Report Awards winners honored

2014-11-24

The winners of the Consumer Rights Report Awards were recognized Nov. 20 in Taipei City, underscoring government efforts to promote a sound environment for trade in goods and services.

“Media reports always play a key role in monitoring consumer rights violations and boosting awareness of related problems,” said Liu Chin-fang, director-general of the Department of Consumer Protection under the Executive Yuan, at the presentation ceremony.

“It is important to honor these outstanding journalists for their efforts and achievements, while at the same time fostering in-depth discussion of consumer issues across a broad spectrum.”

Organized by the ROC National Press Council, the ninth edition of the awards saw 28 teams from 20 local media outlets win honors in eight categories, including broadcast, magazine, newspaper and TV reporting. The 26 winning stories were selected out of 124 submissions.

Top honor Special Award of the Judges went to reporters from Formosa Television Inc. Best Print Press and TV story awards were claimed by journalists from Apple Daily and TVBS, respectively. For feature stories, first prize went to staffers of AD, weekly magazine Business Today, Chengsheng Broadcasting Corp. and Da Ai Television. Journalists from AD, Central News Agency and United Evening News each received a Robust Journalism Award.

According to Liu, the Formosa Television story critically analyzed local food issues and the integrity of Good Manufacturing Practices certification in Taiwan. “The report also offered suggestions on how to improve inspection and authentication of food products,” she said.

Equally impressive is AD’s feature story on water-injected beef, according to Liu. “It is obvious the reporters spent a great deal of time uncovering the truth behind the practice of injecting water into cattle carcasses by slaughterhouses.”

The winners received certificates, medals and trophies, as well as a share of NT$472,000 (US$15,445) in prize money.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=224347&CtNode=413)