Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday said he would attach a high priority to public health and the stances of Taiwan’s neighboring trade partners on the issue of US pork imports.
Chu made the remarks at a news conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon, the first leg of his seven-day visit to the US.
“While the Taiwanese government has no preference as to which regional partnership to join first: the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) or the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, I personally think Taiwan’s entry to the TPP will happen sooner,” Chu said.
Photo: Shih Shiao-kuang, Taipei Times
As the bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement between Taipei and Washington is likely to play a major role in Taiwan’s attempts to join the TPP, the issue of US pork imports would most likely be put on the negotiating table in the process, Chu said.
“Taiwan has the same stance as everyone else: public health is our primary concern, followed by whether Taiwan is on the same page as its neighboring trade partners on the issue,” Chu said.
If the nation’s neighbors all prioritize public health when it comes to US pork imports, “there is no reason why Taiwan should adopt a different stance,” Chu said.
Prior to the news conference, Chu met with US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce to seek his support for Taiwan’s bid to join the TPP.
According to a participant at the meeting, Chu expressed his gratitude to US Congress for its support of Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, including the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Criminal Police Organization, commonly known as Interpol.
Chu also told Royce about Taiwan’s interest to join the second round of TPP negotiations, to which the congressman said he has conveyed his support for such a move to US trade officials.
The pair also talked about future cross-strait development and the historic meeting between President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Singapore on Saturday last week.
“To take cross-strait ties from peaceful development to win-win cooperation, both sides of the Taiwan Strait must facilitate their relations and maintain the ‘status quo’ based on the ‘1992 consensus,’” Chu was quoted as saying.
Royce said that the Ma-Xi meeting made a positive contribution to cross-strait peace.
Chu met with US Representative Judy Chu (趙美心) and Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors member Michael Antonovich after his meeting with Royce.
The so-called “1992 consensus” refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Critics of the consensus point to an admission in February 2006 by former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) that he made up the term in 2000 while still in office.
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