President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson, should let party legislators vote as they wish on the issue of importing pork containing ractopamine, the Civil Alliance Against Poisoned Pork said yesterday.
Ever since Tsai on Aug. 28 promised to ease restrictions on imports of US cattle more than 30 months old and US pork containing the leanness-enhancing additive, Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) has become a spokesman for ractopamine-fed pork, former Taipei Veterans General Hospital physician Su Wei-shuo (蘇偉碩) told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
However, from a scientific as well as democratic standpoint, the approval process constitutes dereliction of duty, Su said, calling on the government to let go of its political machinations, and return to governing based on the law and the defense of the people’s right to health.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Chen might not actually support the policy, in which case he should urge the Tsai administration to clean up its own mess, Su added.
As public opinion is in favor of banning ractopamine-fed meat, Tsai should release her grip on the DPP and allow legislators to reflect the public’s will by telling party caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) to stop pressuring DPP lawmakers into supporting the policy, Su said.
If this happens, the executive order might even be abolished, allowing the matter to proceed in a democratic and scientific fashion, and a risk assessment to proceed in accordance with the law, he said, adding that this would be the best Christmas present for the nation.
Chen is bringing ractopamine-laced pork into the nation without considering its effect on domestic pork prices, while insisting that it would not be competitive in the market, alliance spokesman Lee Chien-cheng (李建誠) said.
Chen is not differentiating between the party and the state, or between right and wrong, only seeking to protect the party’s will at the expense of the nation’s livestock industry, Lee said, urging the minister to step down over the ill-advised policy.
After white-meat chicken was opened for import, its share of the market increased from 10 percent to 60 percent, Lee said, asking how Chen could guarantee that US pork would never grow to more than a 1 percent share of the market.
The Tsai administration has changed its position on imports of pork and beef containing ractopamine, now saying it would not have any effect, he said, adding that it might even allow ractopamine to be used domestically.
Small and medium-sized swine farms are being forced out of the market, selling pork nearly at cost, yet Chen still only cares about beef noodle soup and steak vendors, Lee added.
During the annual Autumn Struggle (秋鬥) labor protest march on Sunday, the alliance said it would hang bells on the trees in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei as a message to the administration.
The protest is a reference to the adage “Whoever tied the bell [to the tiger] should take it off” (解鈴還需繫鈴人), meaning that whoever made the mess should clean it up.
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