Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday played a key role in a vote on a resolution to ban the import and sale of US beef following the discovery of a case of mad cow disease in California on Tuesday, a vote described by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip as a “warning sign” for the government.
The resolution, initiated by opposition parties, called for the government to order the removal of US beef from shelves, to place imported US beef under customs seal and to impose a temporary ban on imports of US beef and beef products.
“Article 5-7 of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures allows WTO members to take provisional precautionary measures in case of insufficient scientific evidence on a food safety risk. The Indonesian government has suspended imports of US beef, but Presdent Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) government has done nothing,” the resolution said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
In a rare development, about a third of KMT lawmakers were absent for the vote, even though the party had issued notices of compulsory mobilization to all its 64 legislators to attend the plenary session.
As a result, the KMT, which holds 64 of the 113 seats in the legislature, nearly lost the vote.
The first ballot, held to place the motion at the top of the agenda for discussion at the session, saw 42 “yes” and 39 “no” votes, with two “abstentions” by KMT legislators Yang Ying-hsiung (楊應雄) and Liao Cheng-ching (廖正井).
At the request of the KMT, a second vote was held, in which Wang voted “no” after the ballot saw the votes tied at 44 each, thus defeating the motion.
Before voting, Wang called a five-minute break, during which caucus whips had a negotiation meeting in a back room, while opposition lawmakers chanted “Speaker, jiayou (加油)” in a bid to win Wang over.
“I proposed holding a repeat vote, but the opposition disagreed. Therefore, I had to handle the situation [by voting on the motion myself],” Wang told reporters.
Wang said he did not vote in favor or against the content of the resolution, but voted against adding the motion to the agenda, adding that he did not violate the principle of neutrality the speaker is bound to abide by.
It was the first time he had voted in his capacity as speaker, said Wang, a seven-term legislator who has served as speaker for 13 years.
At a separate press conference, KMT caucus whip Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) said the vote revealed a lack of consensus among party members on the controversies surrounding the mad cow issue and the government’s plan to partially ease an import ban on US beef imports containing residues of the livestock feed additive ractopamine.
“[The vote today] was a warning sign,” Lin told reporters.
Some KMT lawmakers stood outside the chamber chatting rather than going inside to vote, while some showed up, but then refused to vote when they were instructed to do so by caucus whips, and some arrived late, Lin said.
Lin would not comment on whether the party would reprimand those who failed to act as directed, but said he would look into the matter.
All opposition lawmakers were present for the vote, except for DPP Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩), who took the session off to receive cancer treatment, and DPP Legislator Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財), who was permitted to be absent from the vote to campaign for the party’s candidate in a township chief by-election in Lugang Township (鹿港), Changhua County, to be held today.
Three independent lawmakers, who are usually the KMT’s allies, were absent.
The Executive Yuan on Wednesday decided not to restrict US beef imports for the time being as it is waiting for an epidemiology study on the case and observing how other countries respond. It vowed to take appropriate action once all the necessary information had been received.
KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) said the policy was the same as that adopted by the Democratic Progressive Party government in response to a case of mad cow disease in the US in 2006, in accordance with procedures recognized by the WTO and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), and that was in step with South Korea and Japan.
American Institute in Taiwan spokesperson Christopher Kavanagh said yesterday that the US government was providing updated information on the case every day and that it would share the results of the epidemiology study once it has been completed.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique