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Legislators push for melamine compensation

Legislators across party lines yesterday agreed to back three bills that would make it possible to offer compensation to firms suffering financial losses as a result of importing melamine-contaminated products from China.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus said it would call inter-party negotiations on the bills before they proceed to the second and third readings.

The legislature’s plenary session agreed to speed up the legislation on compensation and approved a motion to bypass the preliminary review.

The three bills are: a draft special statute engineered by DPP Legislator Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) to compensate the affected importers for their losses, an amendment to the Commodity Labeling Law (商品標示法) and an amendment to the Act Governing Food Sanitation (食品衛生管理法).

Wang suggested in the draft that importers be exempted from business taxes for last month and receive cash compensation for melamine-related losses based on their annual business revenues.

For example, a firm whose revenues were between NT$3 million and NT$4 million (US$92,600 and US$123,500) last year would be given NT$500,000 in compensation from the government, while a smaller business with revenues of less than NT$1.2 million could receive NT$50,000.

AMENDMENTS

The DPP legislative caucus initiated the two amendments. The amendment to the Commodity Labeling Law would grant producers “China-Free” certification and the amendment to the Act Governing Food Sanitation would require producers to list on the package the places of origin of all ingredients in their products.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) said that the party supported the proposals by the DPP in principle, but also hoped the Executive Yuan would present its counterproposals to thrash out difficulties if any arose.

In August, panic spread among local consumers after 25 tonnes of milk powder imported from China were found to contain melamine, which can cause kidney stones.

The government has asked for compensation for Taiwanese consumers from the culpable Chinese companies.

VISIT

The food scare over products made in China has become a sensitive issue in bilateral relations at a time when a key Beijing official is preparing to visit Taiwan.

Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), China’s top liaison with Taiwan in his capacity as the chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), is scheduled to visit Taiwan late this month or early next month to hold talks with his Taiwanese counterpart, Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤).

EXTRA SESSION

Meanwhile, lawmakers failed to reach a consensus on holding an extra plenary session for an amendment to the Securities Transaction Act (證券交易稅條例). As a result, the amendment will not have its second and third reading until Nov. 7.

Because the DPP legislative caucus opposes the amendment, the legislature will keep to the initially scheduled agenda of holding plenary sessions every Tuesday and Friday for lawmakers to question Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) until it ends on Nov. 4.

If the DPP refuses to accept the amendment, the KMT caucus cannot put the amendment to a vote to pass its second and third reading until Dec. 7, as the DPP is entitled to ask for inter-party negotiation on the bill that can last for a maximum of one month.

Also See: Women’s groups protest tainted milk outside DOH
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