The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus will mobilize a massive campaign against the Department of Health (DOH) if the government agrees to a full opening to US beef products, the DPP caucus said yesterday.
DPP Legislator Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) lambasted the government ahead of a possible announcement lifting the ban on US meat from cattle more than 30 months old and beef with bones, saying such an action would jeopardize public health in Taiwan.
Under DPP rule, the government agreed to US beef imports but on the strict condition that the meat be from cattle younger than 30 months of age, and beef with bones was barred when a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease was discovered in 2005.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was optimistic that US beef would gain full access to the Taiwan market “sometime this year,” prompting the media to speculate the ban would be lifted by the end of this month or early next month.
Wang said the government should look at the public angst that arose in South Korea and Japan when those two countries opened their borders to US beef.
Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬), another DPP lawmaker questioned whether the Ma administration had conceded to US pressure on beef in exchange for his transit stops on US soil and urged the public to stand united in boycotting US beef.
The DPP said it plans to mobilize the public to launch a “one person, one call” campaign to let the DOH know the public’s objection to lifting the ban.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
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