The government’s free economic pilot zone policy is not simply about lifting the ban on 830 Chinese agricultural products, but is aimed at broadening Taiwan’s global reach, Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Bao-ji (陳保基) said yesterday.
With the legislature expected to review the draft bill on the pilot zones during the last week of the three-week-long legislative extraordinary session, Chen, accompanied by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators, called on the public and opposition lawmakers to support the policy.
Chen described the bill as a far-seeing policy aimed at enabling “Taiwan’s [food] processing techniques to shine” on the global stage.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
The draft bill’s Article 42 has long been the target of criticism by civic groups and opposition parties, which contend that it would allow the import of currently banned Chinese agricultural products to the pilot zones for processing and be exported with the label “Made in Taiwan.”
Chen said that imported raw materials would be examined for food safety in accordance with existing regulations before being processed in the pilot zones. End products that fall under a restricted list can only be exported.
“The policy says nothing about sanctioning the import of banned Chinese agricultural products into the domestic market,” he said, adding that products made in the zone that are not on the restricted list would be taxed before being placed on domestic shelves.
Chen cited the local peanut butter-making industry as a potential beneficiary of the policy. He said that local makers might be forced to exit the market or move abroad if they are not allowed to process Chinese-grown peanuts, one of the currently banned Chinese agricultural products, in the pilot zones and profit from the export of “made in Taiwan” peanut butter.
The minister also underscored the notion of “value-adding,” saying that Taiwan could turn raw agricultural materials from other countries into high-priced products, “just like Switzerland’s chocolate industry and the US’ Starbucks.”
However, academics and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators have said that processors at the pilot zones could favor cheaper imported agricultural products, thus posing a threat to the domestic agricultural industry.
The DPP yesterday said that the policy would only “support Chinese agriculture” and nip Taiwanese agriculture in the bud.
National Taiwan University professor Wu Jung-chieh (吳榮杰) told a press conference in the legislature on Monday that allowing 830 types of agricultural products from China into the pilot zones would be like “punishing those factories that specialize in processing local agricultural products.”
Wu added that “value-added agriculture” would only benefit a few people.
National Chung Hsing University economist Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) said that peanut butter made with Chinese-grown peanuts would not be restricted from domestic sales, and it remains a problem how they would be taxed if they were labeled “Made in Taiwan.”
Taiwan Rural Front secretary-general Frida Tsai (蔡培慧) said that citing insufficient local supply as a reason for allowing agricultural imports does not hold since “there are 270,000 hectares of agricultural fields lying fallow.”
The academics demanded a public debate with the Council of Agriculture.
Chen yesterday said he was willing to accept the invitation if the party caucuses call one.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
IDENTITY SHIFT: Asked to choose to identify as either Taiwanese or Chinese, 83.3 percent of respondents chose Taiwanese, while 8.4 percent chose Chinese An overwhelming majority of Taiwanese, 71.5 percent, think that Taiwan should compete in international competitions under the name “Taiwan,” a Taiwan Brain Trust survey published yesterday showed. Referring to Taiwan’s victory last month at the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12, the survey results showed that 89.1 percent of respondents said that Taiwan’s exceptional performance in sporting competitions furthers national unity. Only 18.8 percent of respondents supported Taiwanese teams’ continued use of the name “Chinese Taipei” in international sporting competitions, the survey showed. Among Taiwan’s leading political parties, the name “Team Taiwan” was supported by 91.1 percent of self-identified Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters,
RSS