The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday accused opposition politicians of colluding with China to have 63 Taiwanese food products removed from a ban that China placed on Taiwanese food imports last month.
Chinese customs on Dec. 9 imposed the ban on thousands of items, claiming that suppliers did not comply with new registration requirements.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) on Sunday said the ban on a limited number of products was lifted on Saturday.
The Chinese General Administration of Customs provided customs registration codes for 63 items, including Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor Inc products, TAO said.
The announcement came soon after independent Kinmen County Commissioner Chen Fu-hai (陳福海) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Yu-chen (陳玉珍), among other lawmakers, met with TAO Director Sung Tao (宋濤) on Sunday.
DPP caucus director Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) said that China’s ban and sudden reversal on some items were perplexing, as the reasons for the moves were vague.
“They are politicizing the matter to favor certain politicians and for propaganda purposes,” Cheng said. “It is regrettable that we have politicians in Taiwan colluding with China.”
“This shows the many uncertainties Taiwanese companies face when making investments and establishing distribution in China, and for those intending to do business and sell products there,” he added.
China unfairly demanded that Taiwanese exporters list full ingredients of their products in writing, while other countries could do so online, Cheng said, adding that the treatment was arbitrary and lacked goodwill to Taiwan.
Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) yesterday said that the import ban contravened international trade practices, and the lifting of the ban on some items was politically motivated.
“Everyone here can see clearly that they are engaged with Beijing for political purposes,” Chiu said.
KMT Legislator William Tseng Ming-chung (曾銘宗) said that exchanges across the Taiwan Strait are necessary to build mutual trust, and he hopes Beijing extends an olive branch to Taipei to improve cross-strait relations.
Additional reporting by Lu Yi-hsuan
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
RSS