The Council of Agriculture (COA) yesterday said it would budget more than NT800 million (US$26.92 million) to help Taiwanese fish farmers, after China this week implemented a ban on grouper imports from Taiwan.
The Chinese General Administration of Customs on Friday last week announced that it would suspend the imports from Monday, citing prohibited chemicals and excessive levels of oxytetracycline allegedly found in grouper imports since December last year.
The council yesterday said it would offer grouper farmers cash subsidies to promote their products in other Asian countries.
Photo: CNA
They would receive NT$40 per kilogram of grouper transported by ship and NT$75 per kilogram transported by plane, it said.
Exports to other places — including the US, Canada, the EU, New Zealand, Australia and the Middle East — would receive subsidies of NT$50 per kilogram transported by ship and NT$75 per kilogram transported by plane, the council added.
It also budgeted NT$40 million to initiate overseas promotion of Taiwanese grouper, the COA said.
The Fisheries Agency is setting aside NT$82.6 million to fund interest-free loans running up to one year, and would offer assistance and training for those interested in raising grouper, agency Deputy Director-General Lin Kuo-ping (林國平) said.
The program would run until May next year, Lin said.
The agency said it is also allotting NT$377 million for subsidies of NT$40 per kilogram of grouper that has been scaled, gilled and gutted, NT$40 per kilogram of grouper steaks or filets, and other expenditures for fish farmers working with online platforms, supermarkets, convenience stores and restaurants.
COA Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) wrote on Facebook that Beijing wrongfully accused three farmers of producing allegedly tainted fish found on two ships.
The fish on those ships came from 11 separate farms, Chen said, adding that tests conducted there were negative for tetracycline, malachite green and crystal violet.
“This scientifically demonstrates that Taiwanese groupers are safe,” Chen said.
Chen said the council would provide the findings to its Chinese counterpart, urging it to provide proof of its claims.
China should abide by international law and uphold the global trade order, he said.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said China was “obstructing Taiwan’s freedom of trade.”
The government would stand with Taiwanese fish farmers, and continue to uphold and protect their rights, she said during a visit to fish processing plants and farms in Kaohsiung.
Additional reporting by Huang Hsu-lei
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
‘DANGEROUS GAME’: Legislative Yuan budget cuts have already become a point of discussion for Democrats and Republicans in Washington, Elbridge Colby said Taiwan’s fall to China “would be a disaster for American interests” and Taipei must raise defense spending to deter Beijing, US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead Pentagon policy, Elbridge Colby, said on Tuesday during his US Senate confirmation hearing. The nominee for US undersecretary of defense for policy told the Armed Services Committee that Washington needs to motivate Taiwan to avoid a conflict with China and that he is “profoundly disturbed” about its perceived reluctance to raise defense spending closer to 10 percent of GDP. Colby, a China hawk who also served in the Pentagon in Trump’s first team,
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
INVESTMENT WATCH: The US activity would not affect the firm’s investment in Taiwan, where 11 production lines would likely be completed this year, C.C. Wei said Investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in the US should not be a cause for concern, but rather seen as the moment that the company and Taiwan stepped into the global spotlight, President William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday alongside TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家). Wei and US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday announced plans to invest US$100 billion in the US to build three advanced foundries, two packaging plants, and a research and development center, after Trump threatened to slap tariffs on chips made
RSS