Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Chih-ching (陳志清) yesterday reiterated the council’s opposition to imports of US pork containing the leanness-promoting additive ractopamine, following controversial remarks by agriculture minister-designate Tsao Chi-hung (曹啟鴻), who said US pork imports are an inevitable part of the nation’s push to join the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership.
In media interviews last week, Tsao said that there was nothing he could do to stop imports of US pork containing ractopamine, as Taiwan is a small economy that does not have the leverage to refuse imports of US pork in a globalized world.
The remark drew criticism across party lines, and the incoming Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration has been accused of making secret deals with the US at the expense of the public’s health and the nation’s pig farming industry.
During a question-and-answer session at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Economics Committee scheduled to discuss a draft bill on food and agriculture education yesterday, Chen said he respected Tsao’s opinions, but the current administration would continue to adopt separate approaches to US beef and pork imports.
“The future government will decide future agriculture policies, and the council has left the regulations of ractopamine-containing pork to be addressed by the new administration. Taiwanese have different dietary habits from other Asian nations such as Japan and South Korea. Taiwanese consume seven times more pork than beef, and we like to eat intestines, which is why the government has insisted on handling US beef and pork imports separately,” Chen said.
“What is the point of today’s meeting on food and agricultural education when the agriculture minister-designate has already said that imports of US pork are unstoppable due to Taiwan trying to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership? The draft bill [proposed by DPP legislators] was a slap in the DPP leadership’s face by DPP legislators,” Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chang Li-shan (張麗善) said.
“The KMT administration has insisted on handling US beef and pork imports separately and maintaining a zero-tolerance policy on ractopamine residue [in imported pork] to protect citizens’ health. I do not know how the new government can protect the public’s health when it has shown its hand before negotiations even start,” Chang said, adding that excessive consumption of ractopamine can damage the human reproductive system.
In talks with the US last year, the Taiwanese government stood firm on its stance of separating permits for imports of beef and pork, and the use of leanness-promoting additives in domestic pig farming is banned to protect the public’s health, Chen said.
KMT Legislator Wang Hui-mei (王惠美) questioned the efficacy of a system that would require ractopamine-containing pork to be labeled, asking how consumers could discern whether pork served at diners and food stalls contained the substance.
It is indeed difficult to label and differentiate unpackaged products and ground meat, Chen said, adding that it takes cooperation among government agencies to execute inspections.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
‘SIGN OF DANGER’: Beijing has never directly named Taiwanese leaders before, so China is saying that its actions are aimed at the DPP, a foundation official said National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) yesterday accused Beijing of spreading propaganda, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had singled out President William Lai (賴清德) in his meeting with US President Joe Biden when talking about those whose “true nature” seek Taiwanese independence. The Biden-Xi meeting took place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru on Saturday. “If the US cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in seeking Taiwanese independence, handles the Taiwan question with extra
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
RSS