Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday drew a parallel between Chinese political influence and African swine fever, saying that the disease would deprive people of pork, but Beijing would deprive them of their freedom.
Su made the remark while delivering an administrative report at the Legislative Yuan when commenting on efforts to keep African swine fever out of Taiwan.
Hong Kong has destroyed about 6,000 pigs, Vietnam has buried 1.5 million and South Korea has culled 50,000 due to the disease, Su said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Thanks to the efforts of 14 central government agencies, Taiwan’s pig farming industry, which has more than 6 million hogs, and the nation’s pork supplies have remained intact, he said.
Apparently improvising, Su pointed to a map in his presentation on which nine Asian nations and territories were marked in red, indicating that they had been affected by the disease.
“If the red area suggested not the spread of African swine fever, but the spread of Chinese political influence, there would be more at stake than just pork, our democracy and freedom would be lost,” he said, adding that this is the situation the nation faces today.
He expressed gratitude to the public for demonstrating unity in combating the disease, saying that disease prevention demonstrates the importance of the entire nation uniting behind a cause.
He said the first document he signed since assuming office in January was a proposal to launch the third phase of the National Space Program, for which the government plans to invest NT$25.1 billion (US$808.6 million) over 10 years.
The Formosat-7 satellite constellation was in June launched into orbit and has established a connection with ground stations, enabling it to safeguard people’s lives and safety from space, Su said.
The Taiwan Photon Source project overseen by the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center has deciphered the genome of the white spot syndrome virus, greatly benefiting the global shrimp industry, he said.
A team of Taiwanese scientists was involved in the operation and construction of three of the eight radio telescopes used by the Event Horizon Telescope project, which in April captured the first image of a black hole, he added.
This year’s Freedom in the World Report published by Freedom House in February gave Taiwan an overall score of 93, higher than those of the US and France, Su said.
The nation has made unique achievements in various fields, which have earned it high regard in the world, but many Taiwanese are unfamiliar with these accomplishments, he said.
He called on the ruling and opposition parties to join hands to move Taiwan forward, saying that he would require the Executive Yuan to introduce more visionary policies and be more efficient in promoting them to create a more equal society and give people even better lives.
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