wfn.org | Taiwanese stage protest to pressure government on risky US beef imports

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>      Taiwan Church News

>3012 Edition

>November 16~22, 2009

Taiwanese stage protest to pressure government on risky US beef  imports

>Reported by Lin Yi-ying

>Written by Lydia Ma

A mass protest spearheaded by Tainan County Mayor Su Huan-jhih  took place on

November 14 in Taipei. Raising high banners with slogans such as  “No more

tainted beef! No more treason! No more lies!”, nearly 20,000  people converged on

the east side of Taipei for a protest march leading up to the  Presidential Palace to

pressure the Ma administration to reopen talks with the US  concerning imports of

>US beef.

“Ma Ying-jeou, incompetent! Ma Ying-jeou, step down!”,  hollered the crowd of

protestors to express their dissatisfaction and anger at the Ma  administration for

lifting a ban on US beef offal, ground beef, and bone-in beef  imports.

Besides prominent politicians such as DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen  and former

premiers Frank Hsieh and Su Cheng-chang, many concerned parents,  pastors,

teachers, doctors, lawyers, and public servants also participated  in this protest. A

few reporters from newspapers normally sympathetic to the KMT were  also among

the crowd. On that day, many protesters also brought their  children along.

For many in Taiwan, the issue at hand was not anti-Americanism,  but rather,

opposing contaminated beef. Hsieh noted that people felt President  Ma had done

many wrong things to the detriment of Taiwanese people, but felt  powerless to stop

him. “This whole affair demonstrates it’s not a  “cow” problem, but a “horse”

problem!” said Hsieh, alluding to the President’s last  name (Ma) in Chinese. “The

government mustn’t betray people’s trust and gamble away  their health. This is the

government’s most basic responsibility,” he added.

As for the “three controls, five certifications” policy  procedures proposed by the

legislature on November 17 to ward off infected beef, Taiwan  Consumer’s

Foundation argued that such procedures don’t really address  the heart of the

problem. The only solution to safeguarding Taiwanese people’s  interests and

health is to reopen negotiations with the US. This is also the  reason why the

Foundation is calling for a national referendum on US beef  imports.

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