Executive Yuan spokesman-designate Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) yesterday said the incoming government would establish an intra-ministerial negotiation mechanism to discuss issues concerning imports of US pork with ractopamine residue, pledging that the public’s food safety would not be sacrificed.
Tung made the remarks in Taipei amid growing speculation that president-elect Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration plans to allow imports of US pork containing residues of the leanness-promoting feed additive after she is sworn in on May 20.
Tung said it is too early to talk about opening the nation’s doors to US pork containing ractopamine because Tsai’s administration has yet to begin evaluations of the policy.
“It is the government’s goal and the wish of Taiwanese that the nation join the Trans-Pacific Partnership [TPP] trade agreement, but the administration must take into consideration both the public’s food safety and the interests of concerned industries,” Tung said.
Tsai’s administration would not enter into negotiations over imports of US pork containing ractopamine until four objectives are achieved, Tung said.
The first is the establishment of a comprehensive food safety management system, while the second would be safeguarding Taiwanese pig farmers’ interests and enhancing their competitiveness, Tung said.
The government’s third objective would be to bring Taiwan in alignment with international standards, Tung said, adding that the Ministry of Health and Welfare would take into account domestic consumers’ eating habits and scientific evidence before deciding whether to follow the standards set by UN food safety body the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which considers pork containing ractopamine of 10 parts per billion safe.
“The fourth objective would be to engage in thorough communication with the public,” Tung said.
Tung was asked to comment on Premier Simon Chang’s (張善政) remarks on Saturday that President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration has managed to withstand pressure to allow the import of US pork containing ractopamine residue for years, a statement meant to refute Council of Agriculture minister-designate Tsao Chi-hung’s (曹啟鴻) comments that Taiwan does not have the leverage to refuse imports of US pork.
“I believe that Chang also thinks the nation should join the TPP and that there are certain issues that have to be addressed before we can be granted membership,” Tung said.
Simply dividing governments into those that manage to resist pressure and those that fail does not provide a complete picture of an administration’s competence, Tung added.
Separately yesterday, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Tsai apologize over what it said is the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) flip-flop over its stance on imports of US pork.
“Prior to the Jan. 16 presidential and legislative elections, Tsai never denied allegations about her plan to permit imports US pork containing ractopamine. However, at the time, the DPP filed charges against several local KMT branches for putting up banners reading: ‘Supporting Tsai Ing-wen is tantamount to supporting the import of US pork containing ractopamine,’” KMT spokesperson Wang Hong-wei (王鴻薇) said at a news conference in Taipei.
“Were those lawsuits not part of the DPP’s attempts to fool voters? Did they not constitute fraud?” Wang said.
Accusing the DPP of reneging on its policy of zero-tolerance against the use of ractopamine, KMT Changhua County branch director Chen Ming-chen (陳明振) said Tsai and the DPP headquarters should apologize for their broken pledges.
It is apparent that Tsao is unfit to head the Council of Agriculture, Chen said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS