Thirteen cities and counties governed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday issued a joint endorsement of the Cabinet’s plan to ease restrictions on Japanese food imports from radiation-affected prefectures.
The joint statement said that the 13 local governments support the Cabinet in enforcing a partial ban on Japanese food imports if a wholesale ban on produce from five Japanese prefectures — Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Chiba — is lifted.
The Cabinet plans to maintain a complete ban on foods produced in Fukushima, as well as tea, water, infant formula and wild aquatic products from Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Chiba. Food items from the four prefectures other than Fukushima would require certificates of radiation inspection and origin, while products prohibited in Japan and the US would remain banned in Taiwan.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
The statement came immediately after the Chiayi City Council, a DPP-governed municipality, agreed to legislate a bylaw to prohibit the sale of food products from Fukushima, even if the central government allowed imports of produce from Fukushima.
Chiayi Mayor Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲), a former health minister, on Tuesday said that he would ensure that the city becomes the first in the nation to ban food items from Fukushima — defying the Cabinet’s planned easing.
Rejecting accusations that the 13 DPP-led local governments held different positions on the issue, Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said that “all [DPP] mayors and commissioners have the same unified position as the central and local governments.”
Lin made the comments at a DPP Central Standing Committee meeting, which was also attended by Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢), Yunlin County Commissioner Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) and Pingtung County Commissioner Pan Men-an (潘孟安), who said that DPP-led cities and counties were on the same page as the Executive Yuan.
Vice Premier Lin Hsi-yao (林錫耀) contacted the 13 DPP mayors and commissioners and confirmed that they all signed the endorsement, and said that the Cabinet would negotiate with non-DPP mayors and commissioners about the proposed easing of the ban, the Executive Yuan said.
Separately, Premier Lin Chuan (林全) asked that one or two more public hearings on the safety of Japanese products be held and that they be streamed live, Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said yesterday.
The meetings will give the public a chance to learn more about the issue, and live streaming will increase the reach of the process, including to places like Yilan, where no public hearing on the issue has been held.
The Executive Yuan is to decide on reopening imports of banned Japanese food after the hearings, Hsu said.
Ten hearings were held from Saturday to Monday, but ended in chaos amid protests, with critics saying the Cabinet held the hearings for show.
If restrictions on food items from the radiation-affected prefectures are eased, the Cabinet would increase border control efforts to intercept unauthorized or mislabeled products, Hsu said.
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