American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Kin Moy yesterday said that the decision to open the Taiwanese market and allow the import of US pork containing ractopamine residue should be made by the nation’s leaders in consultation with the public, but added that adjustments are necessary to build trade ties with the international community.
Moy made the remarks at a question-and-answer session after he gave a speech, titled “US-Taiwan Relations: Our Shared Future,” at the National Chengchi University, the first time he had visited a university in Taipei to interact with students.
The speech came at a time of growing public discontent over president-elect Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) reported plan to open the nation to US pork containing ractopamine residue, an additive that enhances leanness, which has been regarded as a major hurdle to Taiwan’s bid to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Photo: AIT
“There has been a lot of media attention on this issue, but our position has not really changed at all. You have to put this into a larger context: overall trade,” Moy said in response to a student’s question regarding his opinion on the import of ractopamine-laced US pork.
While there are benefits in forging trade relationships with the international community, there are going to be adjustments, because the US wants all economies to open up their systems, he said.
Nevertheless, the decision would have to be made by the leaders of Taiwan in consultation with the public, Moy said, adding that it is not his role to tell people what to do and that all he can do is present information in a factual and scientific way.
“Just know that these are the practices around the world. If you want to be part of a larger integration in trade — and I hope that Taiwan wants to be a part of that — you do have to make some decisions,” he said.
As to Taiwan’s chances of entering the TPP, Moy said Washington welcomes Taipei’s interest in the trade pact, but it is up to the nation to make a decision on whether it can meet the criteria in the agreement.
It would also have to persuade the 11 member nations that it has the desire to join, Moy added.
Asked about the issues that the US expects Tsai to mention in her inaugural speech, Moy said he expects her to reassure the public of her determination to fulfill her campaign pledges, such as reinvigorating the nation’s economy, boosting employment and addressing the pension conundrum.
“Certainly, there are plenty of issues to choose from. She would have to determine those based on how she feels,” Moy said, adding that he also anticipates Tsai to be gracious in her speech in terms of the moment in history.
Moy was also quizzed by students on how the US defines the so-called “1992 consensus,” to which he said Washington does not have a definition, because it is not a party to the consensus.
However, he said that the “consensus” has provided a basis for a fruitful dialogue across the Taiwan Strait over the past eight years, adding: “It is really up to Taiwan to go forward on this kind of issue and on the speech on May 20.”
The “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese government that both sides of the Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
There has been mounting pressure from Beijing for Tsai to accept the “1992 consensus” or compromise on the issue in her inauguration speech on May 20.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
REVENGE TRAVEL: A surge in ticket prices should ease this year, but inflation would likely keep tickets at a higher price than before the pandemic Scoot is to offer six additional flights between Singapore and Northeast Asia, with all routes transiting Taipei from April 1, as the budget airline continues to resume operations that were paused during the COVID-19 pandemic, a Scoot official said on Thursday. Vice president of sales Lee Yong Sin (李榮新) said at a gathering with reporters in Taipei that the number of flights from Singapore to Japan and South Korea with a stop in Taiwan would increase from 15 to 21 each week. That change means the number of the Singapore-Taiwan-Tokyo flights per week would increase from seven to 12, while Singapore-Taiwan-Seoul
POOR PREPARATION: Cultures can form on food that is out of refrigeration for too long and cooking does not reliably neutralize their toxins, an epidemiologist said Medical professionals yesterday said that suspected food poisoning deaths revolving around a restaurant at Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 Store in Taipei could have been caused by one of several types of bacterium. Ho Mei-shang (何美鄉), an epidemiologist at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Biomedical Sciences, wrote on Facebook that the death of a 39-year-old customer of the restaurant suggests the toxin involved was either “highly potent or present in massive large quantities.” People who ate at the restaurant showed symptoms within hours of consuming the food, suggesting that the poisoning resulted from contamination by a toxin and not infection of the
BAD NEIGHBORS: China took fourth place among countries spreading disinformation, with Hong Kong being used as a hub to spread propaganda, a V-Dem study found Taiwan has been rated as the country most affected by disinformation for the 11th consecutive year in a study by the global research project Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem). The nation continues to be a target of disinformation originating from China, and Hong Kong is increasingly being used as a base from which to disseminate that disinformation, the report said. After Taiwan, Latvia and Palestine ranked second and third respectively, while Nicaragua, North Korea, Venezuela and China, in that order, were the countries that spread the most disinformation, the report said. Each country listed in the report was given a score,