Taiwan News
Date: 2016-05-17
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A Kuomintang motion designed to block the import of pork with ractopamine residues from the United States failed to make a second reading at the Legislative Yuan Tuesday due to opposition from President-elect Tsai Ing-wen’s Democratic Progressive Party.

Taiwan’s attempts to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership are likely expected to be met with rising pressure from Washington to liberalize the import of pork treated with lean-meat drugs, a trend opposed by the island’s numerous pig farmers.

The KMT motion before lawmakers Tuesday basically demanded that “the new government must uphold the principle of separation between beef and pork, and strongly forbid the import of United States pork with leanness drugs.”

The KMT legislative caucus wanted the proposal to be reviewed by the Legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee, but the DPP wanted a joint session with the Economics and Foreign and National Defense Committees.     [FULL  STORY]