President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday reiterated the government’s open stance on the US beef imports issue and insisted that his administration had not made any promises to the US, pledging not to risk public health over the issue.
“There are no presumptions or timetables in the matter and the government did not make any promises to the US. Some people have assumed that we would open up the country to US beef imports after the elections, but that is not true,” he said in Yunlin County.
The possibility of relaxing restrictions on US beef imports has led to heated debate across the political spectrum since the presidential election.
Photo: Huang Wen-huang, Taipei Times
Opposition lawmakers on Friday boycotted Premier Sean Chen's (陳冲) policy address for six hours until he promised not to lift a ban before June on US beef containing traces of the feed additive ractopamine without the legislature’s consent.
Ma said yesterday that Chen and the lawmakers reached a consensus on the issue and that the government would continue to prioritize public health and food safety.
Ma and vice president-elect Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) traveled to Yunlin County, Chiayi County and Greater Tainan as they met with presidential election campaign staff to thank them for their dedication during the campaign.
Ma detailed the government’s policies in the previous four years and promised to facilitate reforms, while continuing to promote cross-strait relations during his second term.
“The next four years will be extremely important for Taiwan ... I will defend the sovereignty of the Republic of China and ensure” national security is protected when handling any issue that involves Taiwan’s national interests, he said in Yunlin.
Ma, in his capacity as KMT chairman, later traveled to Kinmen County as part of his post-election thanksgiving tour, and stayed a night at the family residence of Fujian Provincial Government Chairman James Hsueh (薛承泰).
The “home-stay” trip in Kinmen marked the first such trip Ma has made since he was re-elected last month.
He had stayed with farmers and small-business owners around the nation during the presidential campaign as part of his effort to understand local issues.
Ma has asked members of his new Cabinet to undertake home-stays and increase interaction with local residents.
Such trips would help them better understand issues of public concern, while allowing them to promote policies directly to the public, he told Cabinet officials during a meeting at KMT headquarters on Thursday.
CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT: A new committee would investigate a backlog of US weapons sales to Taiwan, said its chairman, US Representative Mike Gallagher The US should formally recognize Taiwan as an independent nation, and end its outdated and counterproductive “one China” policy, US Representative Tom Tiffany and 18 other US lawmakers wrote in a petition. “It is time to change the status quo and recognize the reality denied by the US government for decades: Taiwan is an independent nation,” Tiffany told the Epoch Times. “As our long-standing and valued partner, correctly acknowledging their independence from communist China is long overdue.” The resolution also asks the administration of US President Joe Biden to support Taiwan’s membership in international organizations and to negotiate a bilateral free-trade
The Pentagon is preparing for US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy to visit Taiwan later this year, Punchbowl News reported on Monday, citing an official directly involved in the talks. US administration officials anticipate McCarthy would visit Taiwan some time in the spring, the report said. McCarthy had previously pledged to visit Taiwan if he became House speaker. He was elected speaker earlier this month. He had also said that he would have liked to join then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s delegation when she visited Taiwan in August last year. Pelosi’s 19-hour visit to Taipei marked the first time in 25 years
Taiwan’s Chou Chieh-yu (周婕妤) was crowned the Kamui WPA Women’s World 9-Ball Champion after shutting out British pool titan Allison Fisher 9-0 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the organizers said on Sunday. Following the championship win at Harrah’s Resort and Casino Atlantic City, Chou pocketed US$30,000 and became the first female competitor to hold both the 9-ball and 10-ball world titles since Briton Kelly Fisher in 2012. Chou, 36, won the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship in Austria in September last year after clinching a silver medal at last year’s World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, in July. “I’m very excited and it’s like
JOINT OPERATIONS: Participating in the IMET program, which offers professional training and education to military personnel, would boost Taiwan’s defense capabilities The US government is appropriating funding to help Taiwan participate in its International Military Education & Training (IMET) program to enhance interoperability and capabilities for joint operations of the Taiwanse and US militaries. The funding for Taiwan’s participation in the program is mentioned in the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023, a US$1.7 trillion spending bill funding the US federal government for the fiscal year 2023. It covers funding for military support for Ukraine, defense spending and regions affected by natural disasters. The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) that IMET is an important US
RSS