Taiwanese village changes stance, accepts donated housing

The Taiwan village hardest hit by Typhoon Morakot that originally rejected prefabricated housing donated by the mainland has decided to accept the donations, the South China Morning Post reported. The chief of the township said that villagers believe that the housing contains dangerous levels of formaldehyde, citing reports that pregnant women living in similar housing after the Sichuan earthquake in 2008 experienced high levels of miscarriages and still-births due to the chemical. Formaldehyde is widely used in the prefab housing industry, but excessive levels are dangerous. Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office denied the accusations and today the village decided to accept the donation, provided they pass a quality inspection to be conducted by the county government. In related news, US Senator Bill Nelson from Florida met with Wang Zhiyong, deputy director of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, last week in Shanghai to discuss tainted drywall imported from China which has caused damage to many homes in the state.