Several individuals were hospitalised in Taiwan after mistakenly consuming colorful pods of liquid laundry detergent, which were distributed as part of a campaign freebie in the presidential race, according to Taiwanese media reports.
The pods, distributed by the Nationalist Party as part of their campaign, came in partially clear packaging featuring photos of their candidate, Hou Yu-ih, and his running mate. The packaging included the message "Vote for No. 3," corresponding to the Nationalist ticket in the three-way race, and highlighted that each pod could wash up to 18 pounds of clothes.
Unfortunately, at least three people were hospitalised, with one victim reporting that she thought the pods were candy. The Nationalist campaign office distributed around 460,000 of these laundry detergent pods. Hung Jung-chang, the head of the office, publicly apologised for the incident and stated that they would refrain from distributing such campaign material in the future. The Nationalist Party, also known as Kuomintang (KMT), acknowledged the mistake and emphasised to the public that the pods were meant for laundry, not consumption. Those hospitalised, including an 80-year-old man and an 86-year-old woman, were released after their stomachs were flushed.
The incident occurred amidst the presidential race in which Hou Yu-ih of the Nationalist Party is running against William Lai of the governing Democratic Progressive Party and Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party. The election is closely watched by both Beijing and Washington, as China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, while the U.S. provides arms to the self-governing island for defence.