Taiwan is very willing to address farm product issues with other countries, but food safety remains the top priority when discussing these matters, Representative to the US Stanley Kao (高碩泰) said on Sunday.
“These individual issues should not be viewed as a premise for Taiwan and the United States to conduct negotiations on farm products,” Kao said at a news conference in Washington, adding that the Taiwanese government is transparent when handling such matters.
“The government will continue to negotiate with the US on the entry of US pork and beef to Taiwan in line with international practices, and devise management regulations based on scientific standards and basis,” he said.
Photo: CNA
Amid grave public concern and strong opposition, the Taiwanese government has maintained a ban on US pork products containing the leanness enhancing drug ractopamine since 2006.
However, the country relaxed its ban of the drug in US beef products in 2012 due to pressure from Washington.
The issue recently returned to the public eye again after the US reiterated in its 2018 Trade Policy Agenda and 2017 Annual Report that the ban remains an obstacle to the clinching of a free-trade agreement between the two countries.
Asked about potential impact from the US’ decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum products, Kao said that the government has been closely monitoring follow-up developments and would report to the WTO regarding certain products if necessary.
Communication channels between Taiwan and the US are smooth and Taiwan’s representative office in Washington would consult the US side to gain a deeper understanding of its overall trade and economic policy to assess any possible impact on Taiwan’s businesses and products, he said.
As to the passage of the Taiwan Travel Act by the US Senate, Kao called it a positive development and a friendly gesture.
He also expressed hope that a broader foundation and basis would be created for exchanges of visits by ranking officials between the two countries.
Asked whether any arrangements have been made to facilitate visits by Taiwanese ranking officials to the US, Kao said he has not received any such instruction, but added that it remains a goal for him to pursue.
China appears to have built mockups of a port in northeastern Taiwan and a military vessel docked there, with the aim of using them as targets to test its ballistic missiles, a retired naval officer said yesterday. Lu Li-shih (呂禮詩), a former lieutenant commander in Taiwan’s navy, wrote on Facebook that satellite images appeared to show simulated targets in a desert in China’s Xinjiang region that resemble the Suao naval base in Yilan County and a Kidd-class destroyer that usually docks there. Lu said he compared the mockup port to US naval bases in Yokosuka and Sasebo, Japan, and in Subic Bay
Police are investigating the death of a Formosan black bear discovered on Tuesday buried near an industrial road in Nantou County, with initial evidence indicating that it was shot accidentally by a hunter. The bear had been caught in wildlife traps at least five times before, three times since 2020. Codenamed No. 711, the bear received extensive media coverage last year after it was discovered trapped twice in less than two months in the Taichung mountains. After its most recent ensnarement last month, the bear was released in the Dandashan (丹大山) area in Nantou County’s Sinyi Township (信義). However, officials became concerned after the
The majority of parents surveyed in northern Taiwan favor the suspension of all on-site classes at schools from the junior-high level and below amid a surge in domestic COVID-19 infections, parent groups said yesterday. About 84.4 percent of respondents in a survey of 2,912 parents in northern Taiwan, where the outbreak is the most serious, said they supported suspending classes, the Action Alliance on Basic Education, the Taiwan Parents Protect Women and Children Association, and the Taiwan Love Children Association said. The groups distributed questionnaires to parents in New Taipei City, Taipei, Keelung, Taoyuan and Hsinchu city and county from Saturday morning
DETERRENCE: US National Security Council Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell said cross-strait affairs are on the agenda at the US-ASEAN Special Leaders’ Summit The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday thanked the Czech Senate for passing a resolution supporting Taiwan’s inclusion in the WHO and other international organizations for the second consecutive year. The resolution was passed on Wednesday with 51 votes in favor, one opposed and 11 abstentions. In addition to the WHO, it also called for Taiwan’s participation in the “meetings, mechanisms and activities” of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the International Civil Aviation Organization and Interpol. In its opening, the resolution states that the Czech Republic “considers Taiwan as one of its key partners in the Indo-Pacific region,” while noting its