The government is ignoring public health. By insisting on deregulating the import of beef from cattle that have been fed leanness-enhancing additives and by covering up the outbreak of avian influenza, the government is creating a panic among domestic consumers that is causing a reduction in the consumption of meat products. Market prices for livestock products have dropped and hard-pressed farmers are finding themselves in a situation where the more of their products they sell, the more money they lose. This is harming Taiwan’s livestock industry.
The main reason that the controversy over leanness-enhancing additives continues is that the government seems incapable of alleviating consumers’ concerns. To ensure that the public can consume meat products without any worries, the Chiayi County Government insists on zero tolerance of leanness-enhancing additives within the county’s borders. We have also initiated inspections at wet markets and supermarkets, and are setting up signs banning the use of US beef containing leanness-enhancing additives at food and beverage outlets and in schools. We are also banning the purchase of such meat for use in school lunchboxes. We have taken these measures in the hope that we will be able to provide safe meat products, while at the same time saving the livelihoods of meat product producers.
To deregulate the import of beef containing leanness-enhancing additives the government has to amend the existing law, because such deregulation can only be carried out on a legal basis. The wave of administrative measures emanating from the government and the use of administrative resources to propagate the sale of US beef has been very damaging to Taiwan’s livestock industry. Once the government lifts the ban and allows imports, the meat market will become even more chaotic and it will only be a matter of time before the livestock industry is dragged down too. With serious damage already done, the government must now take steps to save the livestock industry.
First, pork prices are dropping because of government policy, so it is only natural that farming households that have sustained losses should receive compensation from the national coffers.
Second, the market price for pigs has dropped below 95 percent of cost, so the government should immediately initiate the so-called “95 mechanism” — a government guarantee to buy agricultural products at 95 percent of their production cost when market prices fall below that level — and compensate hog farmers for their losses, instead of sitting idly by as farmers’ livelihoods disappear.
Third, operators should be given preferential loans to help them through this rough spot.
The question of whether the ban on leanness-enhancing additives should be lifted involves amending the Act Governing Food Sanitation (食品衛生管理法). Prior to an amendment, any meat products containing such additives remain illegal. At the current stage, the government should strengthen inspections of meat markets to guarantee that we are not being sold illegal food products.
When amending the law, the government must respect public opinion and not insist on simply having its own way. After all, any decision that could affect our physical well-being is not something that should be made employing control or management measures. Take drugs, for example: If we legalize drugs, there will be no end to our troubles and we would have problems for generations to come. It is very irresponsible of the government to push such health risks onto the public.
Helen Chang is Chiayi County commissioner.
Translated by Perry Svensson
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, people have been asking if Taiwan is the next Ukraine. At a G7 meeting of national leaders in January, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that Taiwan “could be the next Ukraine” if Chinese aggression is not checked. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that if Russia is not defeated, then “today, it’s Ukraine, tomorrow it can be Taiwan.” China does not like this rhetoric. Its diplomats ask people to stop saying “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow.” However, the rhetoric and stated ambition of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Taiwan shows strong parallels with