Taiwan’s diplomatic personnel have never bowed to external pressure, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative candidates accused overseas representatives, including Democratic Progressive Party vice presidential candidate Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), of giving in to US demands on pork imports.
KMT legislative candidates Chang Szu-kang (張斯綱), Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) and Yu Shu-hui (游淑慧) yesterday accused former representative to the US Hsiao of jeopardizing Taiwan’s interests in negotiating the opening of the nation’s market to imports of US pork containing ractopamine.
Taiwan on Jan. 1, 2021, eased restrictions on imports of US pork products containing residues of the animal feed additive.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in August 2020, about three months after Hsiao took office as representative, announced that imports of US pork containing ractopamine were to be permitted, Chang told a news conference in Taipei.
Tsai said the products would be clearly labeled with their country of origin, Hsu said.
However, Nick Giordano, vice president of the US National Pork Producers Council, told the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US that the labeling requirement had not been mentioned during negotiations and asked that it be waived or it would express strong opposition to the Office of the US Trade Representative and the US Congress, she said.
Taiwan and the US agreed to allow country-of-origin labels for US pork, but not labels showing that the products contain ractopamine, she said.
The government concealed information from the public under the pretense that it was confidential, Hsu said, adding that if elected, she would advocate for the disclosure of all the information about the negotiations that does not involve national secrets.
Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) said that diplomatic personnel have never bowed to external pressure, nor have they sacrificed the rights and interests of Taiwanese during negotiations.
The legislative candidates discussed the negotiation process, rather than the finalized policy, Liu said.
The Food and Drug Administration has repeatedly said that country-of-origin labeling for US pork is mandatory, he said.
Imports of US beef containing ractopamine residue, approved in 2012, were only required to carry labels showing the country of origin, not whether they contain the additive, the ministry said.
Certain KMT members played up a conversation between diplomatic personnel and US National Pork Producers Council members to make specious claims to mislead the public, it said.
The ministry condemns the candidates for harming diplomatic personnel with false comments made to generate publicity, Liu said.
As a member of the international economic and trade system, Taiwan must consider domestic public opinion and comply with international norms and scientific principles, the ministry said, adding that the public’s health is its top priority.
Representative offices engage extensively with all sectors in the country where they are based to understand opinions and solicit support on various issues, it said.
It is diplomatic practice for countries to conduct confidential communications before bilateral or multilateral agreements are finalized to avoid confusion and to maintain mutual trust, it said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS