More than 60 percent of the public does not accept easing the ban on imports of US meat products containing the livestock feed additive ractopamine as a prerequisite to resuming trade negotiations between Taiwan and the US, a public opinion survey found.
According to the poll results released by Taiwan Indicators Research Survey (TIRS) yesterday, 63.4 percent of respondents disagreed with the government’s claim that easing the ban on US beef imports was necessary for the resumption of Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) negotiations with the US.
The survey, conducted between Wednesday and Thursday last week found that only 26.5 percent of respondents said they accepted the precondition.
However, 67.3 percent of respondents said it was necessary for Taiwan to seek trade agreements with foreign countries, while only 18 percent disagreed.
Under pressure from President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who also serves as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman, to amend the law to ease the ban, KMT lawmakers could find themselves facing a dilemma as the survey showed that 47.8 percent of the party’s supporters did not support using US beef as a trade-off for TIFA talks, while 45.4 percent said they did.
The pressure on KMT -lawmakers appears to be mounting as 46.8 percent of the respondents said they support recalling legislators who favor relaxing the ban compared with 39.4 percent who did not support a recall.
TIRS said a further a breakdown of the results showed that 51 percent of respondents who live south of Yunlin County were in favor of a recall, as were more than 30 percent of pro-KMT respondents.
A regular survey on Ma and Premier Sean Chen’s (陳冲) approval ratings found that both men are still struggling to regain popularity, with Ma’s approval rating at 22.7 and Chen’s a dismal 18.4 percent.
Both ratings were down from the May 23 Taiwan Mood Barometer Survey, a bimonthly poll which covers a range of economic and political issues.
The TIRS poll collected 1,006 samples and had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
RSS