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KMT blocks further US
beef debate
MAD COW DISEASE: The KMT party caucus met before
the vote to ensure there was no repeat of last Friday’s tied vote, but 12
lawmakers still declined to cast a vote
By Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff reporter
Legislators from the Democratic
Progressive Party, the Taiwan Solidarity Union and the People First Party, back
row, hold up signs and call on the government to take imported US beef off the
shelves and to stop imports, while legislators from the Chinese Nationalist
Party (KMT) in the front row hold up signs protesting against any change in the
legislative agenda in the legislature in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
yesterday once again employed procedural delaying tactics in the legislature to
block discussion of possible countermeasures to be taken against imports of US
beef amid fears associated with the discovery of a case of bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE, commonly known as mad cow disease) in the US on April 24.
“[We oppose] changing the order of items on the agenda,” KMT lawmakers shouted,
as the opposition parties sought the inclusion of a motion to review a draft
resolution aimed at banning imports and sales of US beef until the conclusion of
an epidemiological study on the most recent case of mad cow disease.
The motion — supported by the People First Party, the Democratic Progressive
Party and the Taiwan Solidarity Union caucuses — was voted down 50 to 44.
When the vote was held, the opposition lawmakers shouted back, “safeguard public
health,” “ban [feed additive] ractopamine” and “ban mad cow beef,” calling on
the KMT to “side with the people” in its handling of the US beef issue.
This was the second time the opposition parties have tried and failed to have
the draft resolution included on the legislative agenda.
The proposal calls on the government to order the removal of US beef from
stores, to place imported US beef under customs seal and to temporarily ban
imports of US beef and beef products.
On Friday last week, 16 KMT lawmakers chose to risk disciplinary action rather
than vote against the opposition as instructed by the KMT whips.
As a result, the vote ended in a tie, which was only broken by Legislative
Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) casting a “no” vote.
The KMT called a party caucus meeting before the vote to ensure that all caucus
members would attend the session and vote along party lines, but 12 KMT
lawmakers still declined to vote.
KMT Legislator Yang Li-huan (楊麗環), one of the absentees, said she had her own
views about the US beef issue and had not been persuaded to vote in support of
party policy.
Absent from the vote on Friday last week, KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾)
yesterday voted against the opposition parties’ proposal for “procedural
reasons.”
“The opposition parties always try to ambush us and demand changes in the order
of items on the legislative agenda. They were playing politics,” she said.
Meanwhile, the opposition parties failed in an attempt to amend the Presidential
and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act (總統副總統選舉罷免法) out of committee and
send the bill directly for a second reading.
The amendment calls for the revision of Article 70 to allow the recall of a
president within the first year of inauguration, which is currently not allowed.
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