The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on Monday held a news conference to reveal the results of a survey on whether the government should rethink its decision to allow imports of US pork containing ractopamine, given the outcome of the US presidential election.
According to the party, 57.5 percent of respondents agreed that the plan should be postponed.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has accused the KMT of politicizing the import issue.
There are kernels of truth in the positions of both parties. The KMT is right that the public is concerned about the health implications of importing meat products containing ractopamine; the DPP is correct that the KMT is exploiting this for political gain. Caught in the middle, the public has little chance of getting straight answers.
Much remains unknown about whether the use of ractopamine is safe for use in animals or for human consumption. Many countries, including China, Russia and the EU, continue to ban its use or the import of meat products containing the leanness-enhancing feed additive. In the absence of clear answers, those nations have decided to err on the side of caution.
However, one thing that the public can be assured of is that there is big money behind the political calculations, either from the side of the producers or from the side of governments seeking to secure international trade agreements.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has determined that the political and economic calculation, given the unresolved issue of the health risks of ractopamine, is persuasive in that it paves the way for a trade deal — and closer alignment — with the US.
The KMT government of former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was faced with a similar predicament over the import of US beef containing ractopamine during his term in office when, it must be noted, the DPP opposed the imports.
Now that the DPP is in power and the KMT is the opposition, many commentators are, rightly, questioning the reversal. The DPP seems to have adjusted its priorities, while the KMT is favoring selective amnesia over admission of deja vu. These are the sins of opposition for opposition’s sake.
The KMT survey asked: “If US President Donald Trump loses the election, some people argue that US foreign policy will be readjusted, and government officials will also be replaced, and that Taiwan should postpone allowing imports of pork treated with ractopamine on Jan. 1 next year. Do you agree or disagree with this view?”
Agree or disagree with what? The question consists of three parts, the first two of which were conditional outcomes difficult to disagree with, the final part being a painless suggestion. The response tells us nothing.
That, of course, was the intention: It was all an exercise in focusing attention back on the issue and misrepresenting public sentiment.
The KMT, presumably with an eye on — flawed, as it turns out — polling on the outcome of the US election, has been trying to tie the Tsai administration to Trump’s Republican administration. KMT caucus whip Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) had posted a message on Facebook hoping for a victory for now-US president elect Joe Biden, because this would mean the ability to renegotiate the US pork import deal.
This not only assumes that Tsai is only interested in working with the Republicans, rather than Washington irrespective of governing party — which makes no sense at all — it also suggests that Biden will wipe the slate completely clean on a deal for US meat imports that the US has been pressurizing Taipei to accept for more than a decade, including when he himself was US vice president.
Neither party is showing consistency on imports of US beef or pork, but the KMT seems to be running around like a headless chicken.
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