The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday held events across the nation to “celebrate Mother’s Day” and promote its US pork import and referendum voting initiatives.
The Central Election Commission on Friday said that the two referendum proposals the KMT initiated have received enough signatures for the petitions to pass, although a final decision on whether the proposals would be put to a vote on Aug. 28 is expected on Friday next week, after a commission review.
One proposal, initiated by KMT Legislator Lin Wei-chou (林為洲), asks: “Do you agree to a total ban on the importation of pork and related products containing leanness-enhancing additives (ractopamine and other beta agonists)?”
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Another, initiated by KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), asks: “Do you agree that a referendum should be held concurrently with a national election if it complies with the Referendum Act (公民投票法) and if the election is set to take place within a six-month period following the referendum’s establishment?”
Handing out carnations at the 737 Market in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖), Chiang yesterday said that the KMT wished to give mothers the best gift it could by campaigning for its anti-ractopamine referendum, so that “mothers would not have to worry” about buying pork containing the additive.
Voters should exercise their right to determine their future by overturning government policies that disregard the safety of the people and deprive them of their right to vote in referendums. Chiang said.
The KMT is treating the referendums as it would a presidential election and has mobilized party chapters nationwide to promote the initiatives, he added.
In response to the American Institute in Taiwan saying that US food exports are safe, and calling on politicians not to spread disinformation and cause unnecessary panic, Chiang said that Taiwanese opinions should be respected.
Taiwanese are worried about consuming products that contain ractopamine residue, Chiang said.
“We understand that mothers want their children to be safe and to eat healthy,” former KMT chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said.
Sean Lien (連勝文), vice chairman of the KMT-affiliated National Policy Foundation, said that allowing the importation of pork containing ractopamine increases the risk of making the environment toxic and unsafe, adding that the referendum is the only way the public can effect changes.
Additional reporting by CNA
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