◎ Guo Suo
The controversy over nutritious lunches at Jinhua Junior High School in Taipei City spread because some students became ill after eating lunches containing small rolls. The outside world therefore questioned whether the acceptance, storage, cooking, notification and follow-up investigation of the ingredients were complete. Many days later, Jiang Wanan finally went to Jinhua Junior High School to inspect the meal supply process, but it aroused the question "Why is the mayor testing the saltiness when students have diarrhea?" To be fair, it must be said that measuring saltiness was not a performance invented by Jiang Wanan out of thin air. The Beijing City Education Bureau stated that this is one of the lunch quality control procedures that Jinhua Junior High School has implemented for nearly ten years. It is used to control the salinity of meals and the sodium intake of students. On the same day, the school and parent volunteers also invited the mayor to experience it after a demonstration. But the question has never been whether schools should test saltiness, but when society is asking why students are feeling unwell, has the mayor answered the question that everyone really wants to know?
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wanan recently went to Jinhua Junior High School to inspect lunches and used instruments to test the saltiness. (provided by the city)
Shen Boyang said that what everyone is concerned about is why students have diarrhea, so hygienic testing should be carried out, and saltiness testing is another matter. Jiang Wanan then asked if saltiness was not part of the food safety inspection, and further called such criticism a "cognitive operation" by misleading the public, and even described it as a "real cognitive operation" around life. However, the mayor! The question is really not about whether it is salty or not. Salinity management is related to nutrition and health, but it cannot alone answer whether the food is contaminated by microorganisms or whether the storage temperature is appropriate, let alone determine the cause of students' gastrointestinal discomfort. Using "saltness is also a part of lunch quality control" to answer "why students feel uncomfortable" is actually answering another question.
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What is more worthy of discussion is the four words "cognitive warfare". Cognitive warfare is not a political adjective that can be applied arbitrarily by saying "You are misleading everyone." What it discusses is the use of information, psychology, communication and other means to influence the cognition, judgment and decision-making of specific objects. If you want to rigorously accuse someone of engaging in cognitive warfare, you should at least further explain the actors, goals, means, narratives, and intentions, rather than directly escalating questions about general public policy into "combat." Especially when politicians use the highly national security term "cognitive warfare" to reframe the controversy and transform the original question of "how the city government handles food safety concerns" into "whether critics are manipulating the people." This in itself is a political communication framework worthy of examination.
What’s even more ironic is that on October 1, another ethnic elementary school in Taipei City reported that nine students had symptoms such as vomiting and gastrointestinal discomfort. The city government stated that they had collected samples and sent them for examination. Doctors initially determined that they were gastroenteritis, and norovirus was not ruled out. The cause still needs to be further confirmed. This demonstrates the basic attitude that should be taken when facing concerns about campus food safety: collect inspections, submit for inspection, investigate, and then make judgments based on evidence. Politicians can of course refute misinformation, and they should also clarify for civil servants, teachers and parents who have been falsely accused. However, the most powerful clarification is always evidence, rather than labeling doubters a "cognitive warfare" label.
Nine students from Minzu Elementary School became ill after eating a nutritious lunch recently. It is reported that the menu that day also includes small rolls supplied by the same manufacturer as Jinhua Junior High School. (Taken from the Facebook page of Taipei City Councilor Hsu Shu-hua)
Therefore, the real question worthy of this controversy is not "should the saltiness of nutritious lunches be measured?" but whether the mayor of the capital chooses to answer the question or redefine the question when facing public events. Investigate why the students feel uncomfortable; if there are any problems with the ingredients, let the test results speak for themselves; if someone spreads false information, provide evidence to refute them one by one. Don’t turn the food safety issue into a salinity issue, and then turn the salinity issue into a cognitive warfare issue. Because when "cognitive warfare" becomes a label that politicians can easily apply when faced with doubts, what is ultimately diluted is the national security vigilance Taiwan needs when it truly faces foreign information manipulation. Mayor! The problem is really not about whether it is salty or not, but whether you have answered the question directly from the people.
(The author is a freelance reviewer)
