The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday questioned why President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration did not submit its decision to ease restrictions on the imports of US pork and beef to the Legislative Yuan for review.
Tsai on Friday announced that she had instructed government agencies — “under the prerequisite of ensuring the health of citizens, and in accordance with scientific evidence and international standards” — to set a “safe permitted value” of ractopamine in imported pork products, and to ease restrictions on the import of beef from US cattle aged 30 months or older.
“This decision is based on our national economic interests and consistent with our overall strategic goals for the future,” she said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
At a press conference at the KMT headquarters in Taipei, KMT Culture and Communications Committee chairwoman Alicia Wang (王育敏) said that the Tsai administration was “betraying” the public, and their health.
Tsai once criticized former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration for not communicating with the public, the legislature or opposition parties, but she “unilaterally announced” the new policy without discussing it with those groups, Wang said.
She said that the Tsai administration had become an “autocratic dictatorial government,” and asked why the policy was able to bypass a review by the Legislative Yuan.
“Any important policy or legal amendment must be approved and reviewed by the legislature,” she said.
“Why? Because we are a democracy,” she added.
While the new policy “sacrifices the people’s health,” it is uncertain what national interest gains would be made, Wang said.
Chen Bao-ji (陳保基), who was the Council of Agriculture minister from 2012 to 2016, said it is “not enough” to label the imports, adding that importers should also be required to keep a record of imported meat, including where it is sold.
The president making the announcement before measures to manage the imports have been fully developed would have a “great impact” on the industry, he said.
“Is NT$10 billion [US$338.74 million] enough?” Chen said, referring to a commitment Tsai made to establish a “pig farming industry fund” to ensure that hog farmers’ income would not be affected.
The annual output value of the nation’s hog industry is NT$75 billion, Chen said.
Committee deputy chairman Huang Tzu-che (黃子哲) said it was “ironic” that while the central government is to allow imports of US pork containing ractopamine, domestic pig farmers would still be prohibited from using the leanness-enhancing drug.
Wang said that the KMT would not rule out street protests against the decision or other actions.
The Taiwan Youth Association for Democracy on Saturday in a post on Facebook also called on the government to hold off on allowing the imports.
Taiwanese, “especially the younger generation,” would bear any food safety issues future science might reveal, or any impact US pork imports might have on domestic hog farmers and the meat industry, the association said.
The association said it “strongly suggests” that the government postpone any decision on the matter until an inspection report has been released, the regulations have been completed, and when the public and stakeholders can accept the move.
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