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US BEEF CONTROVERSY:
Lifting beef ban prompts no-confidence vote threat
POLITICAL POSTURING: Although such a vote would
surely be blocked by the majority-holding KMT, some DPP officials said they must
use the measure anyway
By Chris Wangand Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff reporters
Taiwan Rural Front members
protest on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei yesterday against a decision by the
government to conditionally lift the ban on US beef containing ractopamine
residue.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
Democratic Progressive Party
legislators hold a press conference in Taipei yesterday criticizing the
Executive Yuan for its decision to partially lift a ban on US beef imports
containing ractopamine residues.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Lashing out at an overnight government
decision to conditionally lift a ban on beef containing residue of the
leanness-enhancing animal feed additive ractopamine, opposition lawmakers
yesterday threatened to put the Cabinet to a vote of no-confidence.
In a press release issued late on Monday, the Executive Yuan said it favored
conditionally -lifting a ban on US beef products that contain ractopamine.
The decision, which came after Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) pledged on Feb. 24 to keep
the ban in place at least through the current legislative session, drew heavy
criticism from opposition parties.
Both the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU)
caucuses said the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was ignoring
public opinion and -professional assessments.
DPP caucus convener Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) told a press conference that Ma’s hasty
decision backed allegations that he promised the US before the Jan. 14
presidential election that he would drop the ban in exchange for US support for
his re-election bid. Ker said Ma was lying to the public when he said the
government had “neither a timetable nor predetermined positions” on the matter.
Ker urged Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers, who supported the ban, to
propose legal amendments to keep the ban in place and to stand up to pressure
from the administration.
Several DPP lawmakers said they did not rule out proposing a vote of
no-confidence regarding the Cabinet.
The timing of the announcement — on the eve of a visit by a US delegation —
demonstrates the connection between lifting the ban and US pressure, DPP
Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) said, adding that he would support a proposal to
hold a vote of no--confidence on the Chen Cabinet.
Given Ma’s poor track record in keeping its promises, DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei
(陳亭妃) said a conditional lifting of the ban could easily be turned into
-complete abolition, which would allow US pork imports as well. In addition,
Chen Ting-fei questioned the Ma administration’s ability to enforce mandatory
labeling of US beef products.
DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said the party would combine the clout of
DPP lawmakers and DPP-governed cities and counties to keep the ban in place.
Although DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) opposed proposing a vote of
no-confidence, saying it would incite further division between the pan-green and
the pan-blue camps, another DPP official, who wished to remain anonymous because
he was not authorized to speak on the matter, said the proposal for a vote of
no-confidence “is a political gesture that the DPP must take.”
“Everyone knows that [the proposal] is not going to clear the legislative floor
because the pan-green camp is still in the minority,” he said. “However, we need
to do something as a countermeasure.”
The People First Party (PFP) caucus would support an initiative to hold a vote
of no-confidence, PFP caucus whip Thomas Lee (李桐豪) said, adding that the Ma
government’s decision “showed disrespect to opposition parties” and “damaged the
harmonious relations between the ruling and opposition parties.”
Lee said the the PFP caucus would consider joining forces with the DPP and the
TSU caucuses to boycott deliberations of government-initiated bills or to
possibly initiate an impeachment of Sean Chen unless the Executive Yuan
apologizes for the policy shift and explains why it decided lift the ban.
TSU Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) endorsed the actions of his party’s three
lawmakers, who yesterday launched a boycott in the legislature of an
interpolation session of Chen, saying the Executive Yuan’s decision showed
contempt for the legislature.
KMT lawmakers are divided on the Cabinet’s announcement, with some throwing
support behind the Executive Yuan, while others are still remaining firm in
their opposition to lifting the ban.
Before the Executive Yuan’s announcement on Monday night that it would seek to
conditionally lift the ban, KMT Secretary-General Lin Join-sane (林中森) and
Cabinet officials conducted negotiations with KMT lawmakers during the day, but
failed to convince those who opposed lifting the ban to soften their positions.
KMT caucus whip Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) said the issue should be dealt with based on
professional considerations.
The KMT caucus was of the opinion that a safety standard allowing for
ractopamine residue in US beef should be established, but “we will not sacrifice
public health in determining the standard in exchange for diplomatic and
economic benefits,” Lin said.
KMT Legislator Yang Li-huan (楊麗環), who has proposed including a ban on the use
of ractopamine in the Act Governing Food Sanitation (食品衛生管理法), said she did not
agree with the Executive Yuan’s proposal to conditionally lift the ban.
Yang was among an estimated 30 KMT lawmakers who called for an amendment to the
act to regulate the use of ractopamine.
“Wasn’t it funny that we were asked to have a meeting [on Monday night] to
discuss the issue, but we were then told that [the government] had decided to
lift the ban?” KMT Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) said.
KMT Legislator Chang Chia-chun (張嘉郡) said she would join a scheduled protest by
pig farmers tomorrow to voice opposition to lifting the ban.
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