Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday rejected calls for a referendum on the government’s relaxed beef policy, while Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday pledged support for one in an open letter.
In an interview with the UFO Network radio station, Wu said a referendum would be inappropriate and there was no good reason for one. There is a risk that the matter of US beef imports would become “tainted by populism,” making a rational debate impossible, he said.
Civic groups have launched a petition to seek a referendum on whether the government should renegotiate its deal with the US.
Wu urged the public to trust in the Department of Health, the legislature’s role as a supervisory body, standards of international trade negotiations and the safety standards set by the World Organization for Animal Health.
Taiwan cannot “resort to referendums” on all matters or “we will stumble in our footsteps,” he said.
To stem the outcry over its beef policy, the government said on Monday that it would use administrative means to obstruct some imports.
“With the measures in place, there will be close to no chance of imports of ground beef and internal organs. For now we have only opened the market to one more US beef product — bone-in beef,” Wu said.
Also yesterday, Wu told reporters at the Ministry of the Interior that the Executive Yuan would send its beef protocol to the legislature for its reference.
“The [Rules Governing the Processing of Treaties and Agreements, 條約及協定處理準則] stipulate that once a protocol is approved by the Executive Yuan and is thus effective, it is to be sent to the legislature for its reference. We have great respect for the legislature,” he said.
His comment followed a statement by Executive Yuan Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) a day earlier that the protocol was effective without legislative review.
Tsai, meanwhile, said in her open letter that she would back the actions of civic groups seeking a referendum, including any demonstrations. Tsai called for bipartisan support on the matter.
Tsai said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was “against the people” and that it was arrogant of the government to relax its beef policy without consulting domestic health experts or first submitting the deal for legislative oversight.
“The government has put on a facade of protecting public health ... with these technical measures, but we see right through them,” Tsai said, referring to the administrative measures announced on Monday. “The government could change its regulations at any time because it lacks the expertise needed for inspections and easily caves in to US pressure.”
The measures involved thawing certain US beef imports for inspection, blocking them in effect by causing them to deteriorate during the inspection process.
Tsai said she feared a “lose-lose” situation for Taipei and Washington in which consumers lose confidence in both governments.
The best option would be either to renegotiate or to ban the controversial products through legislation, she said.
Meanwhile, Tainan County Commissioner Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智) told reporters yesterday that he had applied for a permit to hold a demonstration in Taipei this weekend, with Internet users urging the public to take to the streets on Sunday morning.
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
RSS