Representatives of traditional Chinese and Western pharmaceutical companies and Chinese traditional doctors yesterday held a news conference in front of the Legislative Yuan to express their opposition to restarting the cross-strait service trade agreement.
National Union of Chinese Medical Doctors’ Association secretary-general Chen Po-yuan (陳博淵) said that the agreement would be a “poison” to the industry and is “rotten to the core,” adding that they hoped the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) could understand the industry’s stance on the matter.
Taiwan-trained traditional Chinese medicine doctors of excellent quality could be drawn to practice in China and vice versa, which could diminish the quality of medical services in Taiwan, he said.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
If approved, the agreement would diminish the quality of medical services and harm people’s health, he added.
Both the KMT and the TPP presidential candidates, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) and former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) respectively, have proposed restarting talks on the agreement, which failed to be passed after sparking an occupation of the Legislative Yuan by student-led Sunflower movement protesters from 9pm on March 18, 2014, to April 10 at 6pm.
Commenting on the lack of members of political parties at the protest, Chen said he did not know if the caucuses understood what the agreement’s impact on the traditional medicine sector would be.
Traditional medicine pharmaceutical sector representative Hsiao Hung-chih (蕭宏誌) said the pact, if approved, would significantly affect Taiwan’s traditional Chinese medicine supply chain, and eat into an already withering market and number of employees in the industry.
Representatives of the pharmaceutical sector manufacturing Western medicine also said their industry would be greatly affected, as low-priced Chinese products would present intense competition and Chinese-funded companies would drain Taiwan of its talent and technologies.
Industry representatives said that low-priced, low-quality pharmaceutical goods manufactured by Chinese companies — but bearing the “made in Taiwan” hallmark — would significantly damage Taiwan’s standing in the pharmaceutical industry.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said that his party has heard the voice of the people and “would not allow” the agreement to be approved.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiang Yung-chang (江永昌) said the party stands with the industry, as China is already the primary source of traditional Chinese medicine reagents and materials.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
RSS