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.
PIVOTAL ROLE: Taiwan’s importance in the global chip supply chain can be bolstered by domestic equipment manufacturing, President Tsai Ing-wen said Efforts must be made to better secure Taiwan’s place in the global supply chain by localizing production of equipment and facilities used by the semiconductor industry, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday. Tsai discussed the issue during a meeting with representatives from the Taiwan Electronic Equipment Industry Association at the Presidential Office in Taipei. Product shortages throughout the COVID-19 pandemic — particularly of automotive chips — highlighted the pivotal role of Taiwan in the global supply chain, she said. Tsai thanked the association for cooperating with the government on the shared goal of localizing production of important semiconductor industry equipment.
TRACING UNDER WAY: The CECC has identified six transmission chains among 25 recently confirmed COVID-19 cases, including those linked to a restaurant and a bank The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 54 new COVID-19 infections — 44 imported and 10 local — and identified six transmission chains among local cases. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said the imported cases are 18 who tested positive upon arrival at the airport and 26 who tested positive during quarantine. Of the local cases, seven are associated with a cluster infection at a Tasty Steak (西堤牛排) outlet in Taoyuan’s Zhongli District (中壢), one is linked to a family of four with COVID-19 reported on Monday, one is a family member of an
BILINGUAL NATION 2030: Those interested can apply online, while recruitment would continue until all of the positions are filled, the Ministry of Education said The recruitment of foreign English teachers for elementary and junior-high schools would be expanded in the 2022-2023 school year as part of Taiwan’s efforts to become a bilingual country, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said yesterday. In a statement, the ministry said that it has since 2004 hired 81 foreign nationals per year to teach English in 16 smaller counties and cities to build a better English-learning environment for students. However, for the 2022-2023 school year, the number of foreign English teachers recruited would increase to 531, with some of them to be posted to Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan
Taiwan’s 5G service would not interfere with civil aviation, as there is a broad guard frequency band between the two systems, the National Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday. The 5G system’s possible risks to flight safety came under scrutiny after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last week warned that 5G services in the C-band spectrum might interfere with radio altimeters on certain types of aircraft, which could prevent a plane from stopping on the runway after landing. Pilots use radio altimeters when landing under low-visibility. Major US carriers last week also said that 5G service plans offered by AT&T and Verizon
RSS