Taiwan ready to take centre stage in cultural festival after 'gutter oil' woes: Lu Chien-ying

It's a tough time to be putting on a Taiwanese cultural festival in Hong Kong, but the official in charge of the island's bureau here wants to take people's minds off the recent "gutter oil" scandal - and, perhaps, restore some trust.

Lu Chien-ying, director of the Kwang Hwa Information and Culture Centre, says she is still struggling to comprehend the food safety scandal that rocked the island, and Hong Kong. She says her "heart aches" over it.

"The incident is so incongruous with the values of Taiwan that I and my fellow citizens have worked hard to build and uphold. It really hurts," she says.

"For a place without strong backup and resources like Taiwan, we have to count on our credit that is based on diligence and love for our land. That's all we've got. So the choice for the population of 23 million is whether we go for a change every five years or we embrace a much broader roadmap," she says.

Lu admits that the "gutter oil" scandal has damaged the island's image, especially among Hongkongers. "I can only speak as a member of the Ministry of Culture and present all the best Taiwan can offer as a way of restoring the trust of the Hong Kong people in us. And I hope this year's Taiwan Cultural Festival [in Hong Kong] will be a platform to do that," she says.

In September it was revealed that Taiwanese firm Chang Guann had allegedly imported lard oil - produced from pork fat - with "gutter oil" recycled from food waste and leather processing, and sold the final product as cooking oil to food firms in Taiwan and Hong Kong. More than 1,000 firms are thought to have been affected by the scandal, including Starbucks, 7-Eleven and Maxim's Group in Hong Kong.