Taiwan reaffirmed its stance on sustaining its ban on US pork containing residues of the feed additive ractopamine, in response to a report recently published by the US saying that Washington will continue pressuring Taipei to lift the ban.
Council of Agriculture Secretary-General Tai Yu-yen (戴玉燕) over the weekend said that the government will maintain its separate policies on imports of US beef and pork, and will not allow US pork containing traces of ractopamine to be imported into Taiwan.
Taiwan eased restrictions on US beef with ractopamine residues early last year as a prerequisite for Washington to agree to restart the long-stalled Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) talks between the two sides.
However, the government has stressed time and again that it will not lift the ban on US pork imports to protect public health and the rights of pig farmers.
Tai’s remarks came after the White House published its annual Economic Report of the President on Friday, which said that reducing trade barriers on agricultural products with trading partners will remain a top priority this year.
“The [US President Brack] Obama Administration has made reducing trade barriers to market access overseas for US farmers and ranchers a top priority, alongside efforts to ensure that America’s trading partners fully honor all the commitments they have made under existing trade agreements,” the report said.
Despite the Taiwanese government’s assurances, the latest round of TIFA talks on March 10 have sparked concerns that Taiwan will cave to US pressure.
The TIFA was signed in 1994 as a framework for Taiwan-US dialogue on trade in the absence of formal diplomatic ties, but had been suspended since 2007 due mainly to the controversy over US beef imports.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
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
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS