The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday reiterated its opposition to the easing of a ban on residue of the livestock feed additive ractopamine in meat, despite the vote by a UN-affiliated food safety organization in favor of allowing certain levels of it.
On Thursday last week the Codex Alimentarius Commission in Rome, Italy, narrowly voted in favor of maximum residue levels (MRLs) of the additive.
“The dietary habits of Taiwanese are different from those of other countries. We agree that the Codex standard could serve as a reference for the amendment in Taiwan, but we are not required to proceed with the dispute in accordance with the Codex decision,” TSU caucus whip Hsu Chung-hsin (許忠信) told a press conference.
“The TSU insists on zero-tolerance of ractopamine,” Hsu said.
Consumption of offal by Taiwanese would increase health concerns related to ractopamine, he added.
More discussion with academics is needed before the Legislative Yuan convenes for an extra session on July 24, he said.
Citing a press release issued by US-based National Health Federation, which stated that the voting “was forced upon the Commission by the insistence of the US, Costa Rica and Brazil,” TSU Legislator Lin Shih-chia (林世嘉) said that Taiwan should not lower its health and food safety standards to accommodate countries with lower standards.
The 69-67 voting results in the Codex meeting showed that almost half of the member countries opposed the adoption, Lin said.
The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) headquarters said on Thursday night that the party has always advocated the adoption of international standards.
However, several DPP lawmakers took the same position as the TSU, saying that stricter measures should be implemented to safeguard public health.
DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said yesterday the DPP caucus planned to talk to academics, civic groups and opposition leaders before the extra legislative session about stricter measures on ractopamine, despite the international standard.
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
‘ONE CHINA’: A statement that Berlin decides its own China policy did not seem to sit well with Beijing, which offered only one meeting with the German official German Minister for Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul’s trip to China has been canceled, a spokesperson for his ministry said yesterday, amid rising tensions between the two nations, including over Taiwan. Wadephul had planned to address Chinese curbs on rare earths during his visit, but his comments about Berlin deciding on the “design” of its “one China” policy ahead of the trip appear to have rankled China. Asked about Wadephul’s comments, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) said the “one China principle” has “no room for any self-definition.” In the interview published on Thursday, Wadephul said he would urge China to
RSS