Clinical psychiatrist Su Wei-shuo (蘇偉碩), who has been accused of spreading false information about the effects of ractopamine on humans, yesterday said he would eat pork containing the drug if the president could prove it was safe.
Su, who has been an outspoken critic of such imports from the US, and who the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has expressed support for, is under investigation after the Ministry of Health and Welfare on Oct. 28 filed a formal complaint against him with the police, for allegedly spreading misinformation about ractopamine in contravention of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法).
Su has previously said ractopamine causes autism and that it is 250 times more toxic than the drug MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, among other claims.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
At a news conference in front of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖), Su and other anti-ractopamine activists called on the government to halt its plan to import US pork containing ractopamine residue.
Su asked whether President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) could prove that ractopamine is safe to consume, and said: “If you [Tsai] dare to say [that it is safe], then I dare to eat it.”
The group brought a letter and a framed poem asking US officials not to sell meat products containing ractopamine in Taiwan, but the AIT did not send anyone outside to receive them, so the group said that they would send them by courier instead.
However, Su repealed his statement about ractopamine’s toxicity, saying that he had misunderstood a scientific paper he read on the subject, and that his current understanding is that ractopamine is one-fourth as toxic as MDMA.
Su added that he was not concerned about the ministry’s lawsuit against him and accused it of reporting false information in its assessment of the health risks of consuming ractopamine.
No scientific studies on ractopamine had been done in Taiwan, Su said, adding that “neither Tsai nor the ministry have the power to turn Taiwanese children into lab rats.”
Su said that he hoped for the development of a US-Taiwan relationship that allows the people of both countries to be healthy, and denied allegations that he was “pro-China.”
As evidence of this, Su said that in 2012, when the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was the opposition and protested against the then-KMT government’s plan to lift the ban on imports of US pork containing ractopamine residue, he was asked by then-DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) to hold a lecture for DPP lawmakers on the issue.
Life expectancy in the US is declining, with heart disease as the leading cause of death, he said, adding that cardiac toxicity caused by ractopamine has been proven in animal tests.
Although Taiwan’s participation in the WTO meant that it could not refuse to import agricultural products, it can require that imported meat not contain ractopamine, as it does not use the drug on its own livestock, he said.
Su also expressed concerns about the potential effect of imported pork on the price of locally produced pork.
Meanwhile, KMT Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) asked Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) whether the ministry’s case against Su was meant to create a chilling effect on free speech, saying that the ministry should clarify what statements by Su were considered misinformation.
Chen said that the ministry had clarified the issue numerous times, and has no choice but to take legal action agasint Su.
If Su could issue a clear correction, the ministry would not rule out dropping the case, he added.
Additional reporting by Lin Liang-sheng
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
RSS