An inspection group from Taiwan was scheduled to arrive in Washington yesterday to monitor beef safety in the US after bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, more commonly known as mad cow disease), was found in a dairy cow in California last month — the fourth case in the US since 2003.
The group is scheduled to meet today with the US Department of Agriculture chief veterinarian John Clifford to be briefed on the details of the case, a Taiwanese official said.
However, the US has not agreed to let the Taiwanese officials inspect the farm where the infected cow was raised.
Taiwan has the authority to inspect beef slaughterhouses and processing plants in the US as part of an agreement that allowed the lifting of a ban on imports of US bone-in beef imposed in 2009.
A South Korean inspection group that arrived in the US for the same purpose last week was also denied entry to the farm.
The Taiwanese group is seeking to visit the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Iowa, as well as slaughterhouses, feed processing plants and cattle farms in Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, Utah, Colorado and California. It also wants to inspect 35 slaughterhouses that make major exports to Taiwan. The inspection trip is expected to last two weeks.
However, talks between the inspectors and the US Department of Agriculture have not been smooth. So far, schedules for many of the group’s planned visits have not been agreed.
According to the 2009 agreement between the two countries, Taiwan can suspend US beef imports if three to five beef processing plants in the US are found to have violated the protocol established by the agreement.
Taiwan banned beef imports from the US when the first BSE case was reported in the state of Washington in December 2003 and then re-opened its doors to imports of boneless US beef from cattle under 30 months old in April 2005. It imposed another ban in June 2005 when a second case of BSE was reported.
Imports of boneless beef from cattle less than 30 months old were resumed in 2006 and bone-in beef imports in late 2009. However, Washington has been pressing for wider regulations and, more recently, has strongly lobbied the government to lift its ban on beef containing the leanness--enhancing feed additive ractopamine.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by