In April 2023, a 24-year-old Australian named Alex Shorey ingested rat poison in Taiwan. The cause behind this incident is still under investigation by the police as of May 14, 2023. However, certain mainstream media outlets such as Sky News Australia and 7NEWS Australia have reported unfounded claims that the rat poison may have been consumed unknowingly through contaminated Taiwanese street food. These accusations are inaccurate and lack any evidence, unjustly tarnishing the reputation of Taiwanese street food. Thousands of vendors have been stigmatized by this false news, which has the potential to hinder tourism in Taiwan.

While subsequent news reports have clarified that the rat poison incident was not related to Taiwanese street food, the initial reports of the incident still exist on the internet. As long as these unfounded accusations remain accessible, they continue to pose a harm to Taiwanese tourism and the reputation of Taiwanese street food.

Taiwanese people take pride in their delicious and distinctive street food culture. The reporting and accessibility of inaccurate and unjust claims regarding Taiwanese street food by mainstream media not only harm the reputation of these culinary delights, but also strain the friendship between Australia and Taiwan. Therefore, we are launching this petition to respectfully request that mainstream media remove the inaccurate and speculative content.

2023年4月，一名24歲的澳大利亞人Alex Shorey在台灣誤食老鼠藥。這起事件的原因至2023年5月14日仍在警方調查之中。然而，主流媒體如Sky News Australia和7NEWS Australia，卻報導了毫無根據的內容，聲稱這些老鼠藥可能是通過被污染的台灣街頭小吃無意間食用的。這些指控不準確且缺乏任何證據，不公正地玷污了台灣街頭小吃的聲譽。這樣的虛假新聞使成千上萬的攤販遭受污名化，很可能影響台灣的旅遊產業。

儘管後續的新聞報導已經澄清了這起老鼠藥事件與台灣街頭小吃無關，但最初的報導仍存在於網路上，只要這些毫無根據的指控仍然可以被瀏覽到，它們就繼續對台灣旅遊產業和台灣街頭小吃的聲譽造成傷害。

台灣人以其美味獨特的街頭小吃文化自豪。主流媒體對台灣街頭小吃的不正確和不公正指控的報導，不僅損害了台灣美食的聲譽，還對台灣與澳洲之間的友誼造成了傷害。因此，我們發起這份請願書，尊敬地要求主流媒體刪除這些不正確和臆測性的內容。

References:

Queensland student Alex Shorey fighting for life in Taiwan after ingesting rat poison | 7NEWS (2023) YouTube. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ae9HkoYbAM (Accessed: May 14, 2023).

Queensland student Alex Shorey set to fly home after ingesting rat poison in Taiwan (2023) YouTube. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM1rQWRVPv4 (Accessed: May 14, 2023).