The Control Yuan yesterday censured the Department of Health (DOH) over its handling of the US beef controversy, saying it had dealt a blow to the government’s credibility.
Taipei and Washington signed a protocol on Oct. 22 under which Taiwan agreed to lift its ban on US bone-in beef, offal and ground beef, sparking a public outcry.
UNDER PRESSURE
Under public pressure, the legislature amended the Act Governing Food Sanitation (食品衛生管理法) in January to target beef products from countries that have had documented cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease, within the past decade, effectively blocking the import of offal and ground beef from the US.
Control Yuan member Cheng Jen-hung (程仁宏) said the National Security Council, then headed by Su Chi (蘇起), was in charge of the negotiations that led to the controversial protocol being signed, but it was outside the watchdog’s remit to censure the council because it was a consulting agency of the president and not a decision-making body.
CENSURE
The Control Yuan’s censure mainly targeted DOH Minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良), who tendered his resignation on March 9 over the health insurance premium dispute.
Premier Wu Den-yih has not approved his resignation.
Yaung was charged with negligence by the Control Yuan, with Cheng saying the DOH disregarded a legislative resolution made in 2006 requiring the department to report to the legislature and obtain its consent before announcing the relaxation on beef imports.
BLAME
Cheng said the Control Yuan also blamed Yaung for his inconsistent comments on the US-Taiwan protocol, which left the public with the impression that the government had failed to safeguard public interests during the negotiations with the US.
The DOH was also charged with holding the public and the legislature in contempt as it hadn’t referred the protocol to the legislature.
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