The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday held rival news conferences, accusing each other of inciting violence at public hearings on food imports from five Japanese prefectures amid fears of radiation contamination after the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster.
Between Saturday and yesterday, the government convened 10 public hearings on the issue across the nation.
However, some of the hearings witnessed rowdy protesters engaging in physical altercations, in some cases requiring the police to restore order. A table was flipped over at a hearing in Yunlin and several people wearing black clothes stormed into rooms where hearings were being held in Yunlin County and Kaohsiung.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The DPP and KMT caucuses yesterday accused each other of inciting or participating in the violence to sabotage the hearings.
DPP Legislator Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) said KMT politicians conspired to “simultaneously convene and disrupt the hearings,” and accused them of attempting to cause panic by spreading false information.
DPP Legislator Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳) said KMT headquarters and its local chapters mobilized supporters to storm the hearings, adding that in some cases KMT-led crowds began protesting and insulting government officials even before the hearings began.
The government has not changed its safety standards to accommodate Japanese food imports nor would any food products Japanese authorities consider unsafe for commercial sale be granted import licenses for the Taiwanese market, DPP Legislator Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) said.
Meanwhile, KMT lawmakers at their news conference said that the government arranged the public hearings hastily to shield the import process from public scrutiny, adding that DPP politicians were responsible for the appearance of “black-clad men” at the hearings, who interrupted the proceedings and assaulted their opponents.
KMT Legislator Alicia Wang (王育敏) called the public hearings “illegitimate,” citing the failure of the authorities to mention the nuclear disaster, follow due process when convening the hearings, or to invite credible experts or civic groups.
DPP Legislator Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬) in a Facebook post contradicted her fellow DPP lawmakers, calling the scheduling of the hearings in a three-day period “perfunctory,” adding that the nation’s safety inspection capabilities are not adequate to ensure that food imports from Japan’s affected prefectures are safe for consumers.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS