The smell of rotten eggs filled Aiguo E Road in Taipei City yesterday morning as thousands of pig farmers gathered in front of the Department of Health (DOH) to protest a potential change in policy on the use of ractopamine.
Taiwan bans ractopamine, a drug that promotes the growth of lean meat in pigs and cattle, calling it a health hazard. The ban on the hormone covers domestic and imported meat.
However, the government has said it is considering lifting the ban on imported meat that contains ractopamine.
PHOTO: CNA
Farmers fear that, if the import ban is lifted, their products will suffer in the domestic marketplace.
Wu Fu-li, who is from a rural community near Kaohsiung City, said he came to Taipei to press for keeping the ban, warning that a change in policy would indicate double standards.
"The government doesn't allow us to use this chemical," he said. "Why do they allow other countries to import pork that contains it?"
During the protest yesterday, angry farmers hurled rotten eggs at police who stood guard at the DOH entrance. Police were also dispatched yesterday to guard the entrances of the Council of Agriculture and American Institute in Taiwan.
The crowd of protesting farmers briefly tried to overturn a barbed-wire barricade separating them from the government building, with some managing to break into the department's main entrance on Aiguo E Road.
Some farmers brought the piglets they had raised and threw eggs and pig excrement at the building, demanding that Department of Health Minister Hou Sheng-mou (侯勝茂) make an immediate appearance.
Hou eventually agreed to meet the protesters and was pressured to sign a formal agreement.
In the agreement, Hou was asked to promise that he would ban imports of pork containing ractopamine before any change in regulations takes effect and that in the future, the DOH and the council would have a consistent position on the issue.
Pan Lien-chou (
Those from Hualien could not attend because of landslides that were caused by Typhoon Sepat, he said.
Legislators from the Democratic Progressive Party, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan Solidarity Union also attended the event to support the pig farmers' cause.
Police made no arrests and there were no injuries during the protest.
At a separate setting yesterday, Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
Asserting that the government is doing its best to properly handle the issue, Chang said he has instructed Vice Premier Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) to coordinate the work of government agencies in order to forge a consensus.
Additional reporting by AP and CNA
The Philippine Coast Guard yesterday said it has deployed its largest vessel and an aircraft to challenge a Chinese research ship operating off northern Batanes near Taiwan, adding that a Chinese coast guard vessel had also moved in. The Philippine operation “disrupted the vessel’s unauthorized marine scientific research and compelled it to leave its loitering position,” said Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson on South China Sea issues. The Philippine Coast Guard said the BRP Teresa Magbanua and an aircraft were deployed to counter the Chinese vessel, which it said had remained about 37 nautical miles northwest of Itbayat Island since Monday. The
RUNWAY: Analysts said the first aircraft landing is expected by the middle of next year, while Chinese state media said it would serve civilian needs Chinese construction of a runway on Antelope Reef (Lingyang Reef, 羚羊礁) in the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), is well under way with analysts estimating it could be completed by the middle of next year, strengthening Beijing’s military control over the disputed South China Sea. Satellite images reviewed by Reuters show grading work, piles of gravel and concrete, and compaction cranes in operation to build a full-scale runway that military attaches and security analysts say could be one of China’s most important offshore bases in the region. The images, taken on Friday last week by commercial satellite imagery provider Vantor, also show
PLEA: How the UN addresses Taiwan’s security issue would be a test of its strength and relevance, Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine told the UN General Assembly Only Taiwan’s elected government can represent the people of Taiwan, Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine said on Friday at the UN General Assembly, calling for the nation’s inclusion in the UN. Taiwan and its 23 million people are a reality, and only its democratically elected government can represent it, Heine said when addressing the 81st session of the UN General Assembly General Debate. Appropriate ways must be found for Taiwan’s substantive participation in UN meetings if the UN is to be truly inclusive and effective in years to come, she said. UN member states would experience pressure to accept a
RESILIENCE: Keeping the defense industry’s assembly lines open would prove essential should the nation be involved in a prolonged conflict, a source said The Ministry of National Defense has prepared a NT$22 billion (US$692.3 million) program to acquire about 200 improved Hsiung Feng anti-ship missiles from next year to 2035, a source said. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a high-ranking defense official said the ministry’s plan for enhanced-capability Hsiung Feng II and Hsiung Feng III missiles would be funded as part of the regular defense budget. The 200 missiles would be added on top of the 1,400 missiles being funded via the Sea-Air Combat Power Improvement Plan, they said. The program is not about padding missile numbers, but expanding the capability to defeat
RSS