Tsai said it was “despicable” of Yaung to smear the DPP over a matter of legitimate public concern.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) said legislators had yet to determine the exact wording of the amendment.
Although two versions have been proposed — one by the DPP and one by KMT Legislator Daniel Hwang (黃義交) — Lu said the legislature could empower the government to draw up a list of banned products rather than stating them in the amendment.
Lu said the amendment must not violate WTO guidelines.
Meanwhile, Legislator Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) became the first KMT lawmaker to endorse a petition for a referendum on US beef imports launched by civic groups. In a press release, Lu said that as a lawmaker, she was obligated to show her concern for anything the public opposes.
Lu Shiow-yen demanded fresh negotiations with Washington and said she was against imports of US ground beef, internal organs and spinal cords from cattle younger than 30 months. A referendum could be a bargaining chip in the process, she said.
“Government policy must be in line with public opinion in order to be legitimate. This is a simple democratic principle with a long history,” Lu said.
Also yesterday, Cabinet Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) said the government would support the amendment as long as it meets three conditions: It should dispel the public’s concerns, facilitate administrative measures to block ground beef and bovine offal and not violate WTO regulations.
Earlier this week, the Executive Yuan responded to the outcry against its beef policy by announcing administrative measures to ban most controversial products. The exception will be bone-in beef. The government said it would block ground beef because it is not accredited with adequate quality assurances from the US Department of Agriculture.
The measures involve thawing imports for examination, causing them to deteriorate in the process.
The US said it was still reviewing the measures.
Washington had welcomed Taiwan’s relaxed beef policy, calling it a triumph for scientific fact in the face of fears of mad cow disease.
The protocol does not outline any ramifications if either party violates the provisions of the document or how to determine when a given meat plant could resume exports to Taiwan if tainted meat is found in its shipments.
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) yesterday declined to discuss the agreement except to say that the protocol speaks for itself.
AIT said the US has an ongoing program dedicated to monitoring cattle for Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease. Approximately 40,000 cattle are inspected each year. In the 12 months through September, 46,072 animals were tested and cleared of BSE, AIT said. This rate of inspection is 10 times that required by the OIE, it said.
The OIE lists Taiwan and the US in the same category of “controlled BSE risk,” along with Japan, Canada and France.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHIH HSIU-CHUAN
RSS