Taiwan has been informed that the import ban on US beef products containing ractopamine residue could have repercussions for the nation’s long-standing request to be included in the US visa-waiver program, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Shen Lyu-shun (沈呂巡) said yesterday.
Shen made the remarks at the legislature’s Foreign and Defense Committee in response to questions from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀).
Shen said the US had expressed concern over the import ban by Taiwan, the six-largest market for US beef exports at US$114.3 million in October last year, according to US Meat Export Federation.
Shen said the US government expected to see progress on the ractopmaine issue before talks on a visa-waiver agreement could take place.
“We aim to separate the beef issue from other bilateral issues and hope that both countries can set aside disputes,” Shen said.
On Wednesday last week, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director William Stanton brought up the issue when he gave a speech at the American Chamber of Commerce’s annual Hsieh Nien Fan dinner, saying that he had been criticized by his bosses in Washington because he was sent to Taiwan “to make the beef problem go away, not to make US beef go away.”
The US postponed a meeting of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) between the two countries early this year because of the Ma administration’s handling of the beef imports issue, removing products from the supermarket shelves when traces of ractopamine were found.
Urged by the US to allow the use of ractopamine in meat products in accordance with standards adopted by the US and 25 other countries, the Taiwanese government had said it would not revise its zero-tolerance policy unless the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) established standards for trace levels of ractopamine.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
MINOR DISRUPTION: The outage affected check-in and security screening, while passport control was done manually and runway operations continued unaffected The main departure hall and other parts of Terminal 2 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport lost power on Tuesday, causing confusion among passengers before electricity was fully restored more than an hour later. The outage, the cause of which is still being investigated, began at about midday and affected parts of Terminal 2, including the check-in gates, the security screening area and some duty-free shops. Parts of the terminal immediately activated backup power sources, while others remained dark until power was restored in some of the affected areas starting at 12:23pm. Power was fully restored at 1:13pm. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a
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