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Bureau vows no easing in plant, animal checks

The government will not ease its animal and plant quarantine standards despite promises by the two presidential candidates to open Taiwan wider to the rest of the world, including China, an official said yesterday.

"No matter to what extent Taiwan opens up to other countries, the Council of Agriculture will not relax its inspection of plant or animal imports into Taiwan," Chiang Shien-chung, a section chief at the council's Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, told reporters.

contagious diseases

"Vigorous quarantine inspections will remain in place to cope with greater implications arising from increased exchanges, especially with China, where several contagious diseases, such as bird flu, are spreading," Chiang said.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential hopeful Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rival, Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), have both touted greater exchanges with China, with Ma proposing the establishment of a cross-strait common market and inking free trade agreements with Japan and Singapore.

opaque

Although Taiwan and China are required as members of the World Organization for Animal Health to promptly report any information regarding the spread of any disease, Chiang said information in China remained opaque.

Chiang said his bureau had stepped up disinfection efforts at airports and harbors across the country, particularly on the outlying islands of Kinmen and Matsu, which maintain direct trade and shipping links with the Fujian ports of Xiamen, Mawei and Quanzhou.

Chiang also urged people who visit farms overseas to be alert to any changes in their health and to take measures to avoid being infected with contagious diseases.
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