Cabinet spokesperson-to-be Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) yesterday defended Council of Agriculture minister-designate Tsao Chi-hung (曹啟鴻) over his remarks about lifting the ban on importing US pork products, saying Tsao’s comments are in line with the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) four fundamental principles on the issue.
Joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a common aspiration in Taiwan and talks on membership are certain to include whether to lift the ban on importing US pork products, he said.
“The DPP has four basic principles on the issue: ensuring food safety, reducing the impact on the industry, staying in line with international standards and establishing a mechanism to smoothly communicate with all parties,” he said. “It is under such preconditions that we would take care of the pork products import issue in negotiations for the TPP.”
“Tsao’s remarks did not go beyond the four principles. It is just that sometimes, newspapers might focus on different things,” Tung said.
However, DPP lawmakers appeared divided on the import issue.
“It is the government’s responsibility to defend food safety and pig farmer’s rights,” said DPP Legislator Liu Chien-kuo (劉建國), who represents Yunlin County, which is home to many pig farms. “[Tsao] should not show his bottom line when the negotiations have not even begun.”
DPP Legislator Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said that if lifting the ban is a must for joining the TPP, it would probably be very difficult to prevent it.
“However, the government should come up with certain measures to protect rights of the public and of pig farmers,” he said.
DPP caucus secretary-general Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said the media might have overinterpreted Tsao’s remarks.
“The key to deciding whether to lift the ban rests on public opinion. I believe [president-elect] Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) government would be one that respects public opinion,” she said.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said today. Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the continent since her two-term presidency ended in May last year. Her office issued a statement today saying that Tsai would also visit the UK "for a few days," during which she is to meet with UK politicians and Taiwanese professionals, and visit academic and research institutions. Following Tsai's stop in Denmark, she is to visit the
RSS