The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said that it has collected more than 500,000 signatures supporting each of its proposals to hold national referendums on imported pork containing trace amounts of ractopamine and when referendums should take place.
KMT Legislator Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) is the lead proponent of a referendum that would ask voters if they agree that the government should impose a complete ban on imports of meat, offal and related products from pigs that were given the animal feed additive.
The KMT first raised its “anti-ractopamine pork” or “food safety” referendum proposal in September last year, days after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Aug. 28 announced that the government would ease restrictions on imports of US pork containing ractopamine residue and beef from cattle aged 30 months or older. The policy went into effect on Jan. 1.
Photo: CNA
The other referendum question, initiated by KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), would ask voters if they agree that referendums should be held on the same day as nationwide elections if an election is scheduled to take place within six months of a proposal to hold a referendum being approved.
The KMT on Jan. 9 launched the second phase of its signature drive for the referendums, Chiang told a news conference in Taipei.
In less than a month, it has collected more than 500,000 signatures for each of the two proposals, he said.
They crossed the 500,000 mark on Friday, he said, adding that the number of signatories is expected to grow.
The speed at which the KMT was able to collect signatures was “very rare” for referendum campaigns, Chiang said.
He said that the petition forms represented the public’s dissatisfaction with the Democratic Progressive Party’s “neglect of food safety and inconsistent [stance] on direct democracy.”
He urged people to vote on Aug. 28 to decide on food safety standards and “to make the final decision for our next generation.”
Aug. 28 is the next possible date for a referendum under the Referendum Act (公民投票法).
The KMT would review and tabulate the signatures, and expects to submit them to the Central Election Commission in about a month, the party said in a statement.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
RSS