The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday called on the government to reverse course on the lifting of a ban on US pork imports containing residues of ractopamine, warning that its supporters would otherwise again take to the streets.
The opposition cannot make the decision, but it can put pressure on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to respond to public opinion, KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said at the 126th anniversary celebration of the founding of the Revive China Society held in Taichung.
Chiang’s comments came after the KMT and its supporters on Sunday last week participated in a labor rights protest in Taipei, calling on the government to not allow imports of US pork containing residues of the animal feed additive.
Photo: Su Meng-chuan, Taipei Times
Tens of thousands of people marched on the street that day, Chiang said.
If the DPP insists on lifting the ban and does not listen to the public, those opposing the imports would “find ways to express their anger,” he said, adding that the KMT would respect expressions of public opinion.
Asked about KMT Youth League leader Chen Po-hsiung (陳柏翰) calling for restraint after KMT lawmakers on Friday threw pig offal at Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Chiang said: “The KMT is an inclusive political party, and different opinions can be discussed.”
“The greatest consensus within the KMT is that we oppose the government and respect public opinion,” Chiang said.
Chiang last week also invited President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to a televised debate on the issue.
In 2010, Tsai, then DPP chairperson, participated in a debate with then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, Chiang said, adding that Tsai should once more come forward and debate the US pork issue, which is as much of concern to the public as the framework agreement.
Taiwanese consider their health national interest, he said.
In her announcement in August to lift the import ban from Jan. 1, Tsai said that the change in policy is “based on our national economic interests and consistent with our overall strategic goals for the future.”
Additional reporting by Su Meng-chuan
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
CPBL players, cheerleaders and officials pose at a news conference in Taipei yesterday announcing the upcoming All-Star Game. This year’s CPBL All-Star Weekend is to be held at the Taipei Dome on July 19 and 20.
The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld a lower court’s decision that ruled in favor of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) regarding the legitimacy of her doctoral degree. The issue surrounding Tsai’s academic credentials was raised by former political talk show host Dennis Peng (彭文正) in a Facebook post in June 2019, when Tsai was seeking re-election. Peng has repeatedly accused Tsai of never completing her doctoral dissertation to get a doctoral degree in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1984. He subsequently filed a declaratory action charging that
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
RSS