Political tension between China and Taiwan has affected cooperation on safety standards leading to a large number of cosmetic and food imports being stopped from entering China, the head of China’s quality watchdog said yesterday.
Chinese Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine Director Zhi Shuping (支樹平) told reporters on the sidelines of China’s annual meeting of parliament that, although cosmetic and food imports do not account for a large percentage of China’s imports from Taiwan, a large number of imports of those products were substandard.
“Originally we had lots of cooperation, but now certainly it has been obstructed. Some information is not as smooth as it had been in the past,” Zhi said, referring to the period after Tsai took office.
Photo: China News Service via CNA
Things would get better if Taiwan recognized the “1992 consensus,” he said.
The “1992 consensus” refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Beijing that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means. Former former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) said in 2006 that he had made up the term in 2000.
“Communication would be a lot smoother,” Zhi said. “We all belong to ‘one China’ and blood is thicker than water.”
Some Taiwanese companies also do not really understand China’s standards, Zhi said, and Taiwan’s own quality standards have weak points and loopholes.
“We give feedback on each batch, but rectification is not good enough,” he said. “We treat everyone in the world the same when it comes to safety. Brothers are brothers, but principles are principles. Just because you are a brother does not mean we make things easier for you.”
There have been repeated safety scandals over made-in-China goods, from tainted baby milk formula and rotten meat to fake rice and toxic toothpaste, unsettling consumers in Taiwan and around the world.
China is deeply suspicious of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) believing she wants to push for independence, a red line for Beijing.
Tsai says she wants to maintain peace with China.
Beijing has cut off official communication with Taipei because of Tsai’s refusal to accept China’s view that the nation is part of China, and has put pressure on Taipei diplomatically and economically.
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