Nine administrative directives related to allowing US imports of pork containing ractopamine residue were submitted to a joint session composed of five committees at the Legislative Yuan for review amid a cross-party consensus yesterday.
The administrative directives were introduced after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Aug. 28 announced that the government would lift bans on US pork containing ractopamine residue and US beef from cattle more than 30 months old. The policy is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1 next year.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government has planned to allow the import of US pork through an administrative order that, according to the Administrative Procedure Act (行政程序法), requires a 60-day period for public comment before it can go into effect.
Photo courtesy of the Council of Agriculture
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has said that the issue must undergo a further, substantial review by the relevant legislative committees.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday said that he is not opposed to the proposed policy being put to review at legislative committees.
As the DPP caucus yesterday did not object, cross-caucus consensus was reached to put the issue to review at the legislative Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee, the Economics Committee, the Foreign and National Defense Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Education and Culture Committee.
Photo courtesy of the Council of Agriculture
The administrative directives include regulations on levels of ractopamine residues in pork products; the labeling of the origin of pork products to be sold to consumers and food suppliers; quarantine and examination procedures for imported beef; and rules for imports of US and Canadian beef.
Meanwhile, the Council of Agriculture is looking for the best logo for Taiwanese pork products, with winning logos from the preliminary round now in an online vote.
The vote would run until 6pm on Monday next week, the council said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Additional reporting by Chien Hui-ju and CNA
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
The Grand Hotel Taipei has rejected media reports claiming that the hotel had prevented CBS from broadcasting coverage of the Beijing summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on its premises. Media reports alleging that the hotel owner, dissatisfied with CBS’s coverage, prohibited the network from broadcasting political content on the hotel premises, are not true, the hotel said in a statement issued last night. The reports were “inconsistent with how the hotel actually handled the matter,” it said. The hotel said it received a refund request from a
RSS