The passage of a referendum seeking to ban imports of pork containing traces of the feed additive ractopomine could undermine Taiwan’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), as it could be interpreted as a lack of determination to embrace free trade, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said on Tuesday.
“This is the most important display of willpower [for Taiwan], in which a country’s determination is examined,” Tsai said during a podcast in which she detailed the government’s opposition to a referendum slated for Dec. 18.
The referendum asks voters: “Do you agree that the government should prohibit imports of pork, offal or other related products that contain the beta agonist ractopamine?”
Photo: CNA
While the question does not connect ractopomine pork with US pork, Tsai urged the public to vote “No” in the referendum, saying that whether Taiwan allows such imports from the US would be scrutinized by the world as it weighs the nation’s willingness to open its markets.
All of the CPTPP’s 11 signatory countries have approved the import of such products from the US, and they will be checking if Taiwan is prepared to clear difficult hurdles to comply with the world’s high-standards in free trade, she said.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which initiated the referendum in an attempt to overturn the government’s decision to lift the ban on pork imports containing ractopamine at the beginning of this year, has said such an argument is irrelevant as the US is not a CPTPP member.
Domestically, Taiwan still bans the use of the drug, which is used to enable animals to grow larger and leaner, for both cattle and hogs.
Tsai said that the long-stalled Trade and Investment Framework Agreement between Taiwan and the US was able to resume thanks to the government’s announcement that it would open up to US pork products.
In addition, subsequent trade talks have provided both sides with an ideal platform through which other differences can be resolved, allowing Taiwan to narrow the gap with the US on a range of issues, she said.
Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) on Tuesday said that as Taiwan is heavily dependent on trade, the passage of the referendum would showcase the nation’s reluctance to comply with “international standards” and put it at a disadvantage in free-trade agreement negotiations with the US.
No country in the world has left food safety issues to a referendum, Chen said, adding that the initiative is politically motivated.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS