British expert explains the EU ban on ractopamine

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Use of the animal feed additive ractopamine only benefits meat producers and has negative effects on humans, a British professor who sits on a European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) panel said yesterday.

“Ractopamine usage benefits producers, but not consumers. It is bad for animal welfare and has some bad effects on humans,” Donald Broom, a professor at the University of Cambridge’s department of veterinary medicine, concluded in his 30-minute brief at a forum in Taipei.

Public rejects ‘one country, two areas’

PANNED BY POLL:：A survey this week showed about 60 percent of people rejected the ‘one country, two areas’ formulation put forward by Wu Poh-hsiung
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter
Fri, Mar 30, 2012 - Page 3

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday reiterated its demand for President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to apologize for the ruling party’s “one country, two areas (一國兩區)” proposal after nearly 60 percent of the respondents in an opinion poll said they disagreed with the initiative.

The survey, conducted by the DPP on Monday and Tuesday, polled respondents for their views on the controversial proposal, which was touted by former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) during his meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) on March 22 in Beijing.

‘Some injustice’ in urban act: minister

ANGER:：Lawmakers grilled Cabinet officials over the eviction of a family and police clashes with protesters on Wednesday, and demanded changes to the law
By Loa Iok-sin  /  Staff reporter
Fri, Mar 30, 2012 - Page 1

Following a day of clashes between protesters and police, Minister of the Interior Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源) yesterday said there were “elements of injustice” involved in the dispute over the city’s urban renewal project.

The project in Taipei’s Shilin District (士林), under which a construction firm plans to turn an old residential complex for 38 households into a 15-story high-rise apartment complex, was stalled for three years because of opposition from a family surnamed Wang (王), who had lived in the area for decades. The Wangs were evicted on Wednesday and their two stand-alone homes demolished.

Legislators take aim at Taipower ‘fat cat’ employees

NICE PACKAGE:Employees at Taipower earn more than twice the average salary and get a 4.6-month annual bonus, but the company still wants to raise electricity rates
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

There are too many “fat cats” at state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) and the resultant high personnel costs have illegitimized the company’s plan to raise electricity prices, lawmakers said yesterday.

It would be unfair for the company, which claims to be losing money, to raise electricity prices by 30 percent as planned when its employees earn two to three times the national average, lawmakers of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan Solidarity Union said in a joint meeting held at the Legislative Yuan.

Fujian governor has broken Taiwan’s law: pan greens

PROMOTING CHINA:A Mainland Affairs Council official said that Su Shulin did not do anything ‘inappropriate,’ while the interior ministry promised to launch a probe
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

China’s Fujian Province Governor Su Shulin (蘇樹林) has violated Taiwanese law by promoting investment in China and should be expelled, pan-green lawmakers said yesterday.

The Chinese official had made high-profile comments to attract Taiwanese investment to the province’s Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone during his visit, despite a Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) warning against such a move, lawmakers said.

DPP demands Ma apology over policy

‘ONE COUNTRY, TWO AREAS’:The party said the president had ignored legislative oversight, in addition to breaking his promise of not pursuing unification with China
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday condemned the ruling party’s controversial “one country, two areas (一國兩區)” proposal and demanded that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) apologize and clarify his stance on Taiwan’s status.

If Ma failed to disclose the policymaking process behind the proposal, which the DPP said would make unification Taiwan’s only option, the DPP would not rule out “any form of action that could express Taiwanese people’s anger,” DPP spokesperson Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) told a press conference.

Pro-independence groups split on Chen amnesty

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Pro-independence groups were divided on the issue of amnesty for former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) appeared to be retreating from the issue.

Several DPP lawmakers and civic groups raised the amnesty issue after Chen, who is serving a 17-and-a-half-year sentence for corruption, was granted a temporary release from Taipei Prison on March 6 for a medical examination at Taoyuan General Hospital.

Ma, Wu should be accountable: groups

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) should be held accountable for the “one country, two areas (一國兩區)” concept, which is tantamount to surrendering Taiwan to China, pro-localization groups said yesterday.

Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文), convener of the Taiwan National Alliance, told a press conference that Taiwan does not belong to China and Wu’s “one country, two areas” proposal was an “offense against the external security of the state (外患罪)” because his remarks had led others to think that Taiwan is a region within China.

Pan-greens want Constitution changed

UNIFICATION OUT:Pan-green legislators and a pro-independence group want to remove ‘unification’ from the Additional Articles of the Constitution
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Pan-green lawmakers put forward a proposal to amend the Constitution to remove unification-related wording amid a controversy surrounding the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) new “one country, two areas (一國兩區)” concept.

The legislators unveiled their proposal, which would also enshrine the right to referendum into the text, at a press conference where they were backed by the pro--independence Taiwan Society.

TSU reaffirms Lin position

The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday reiterated that Justin Lin (林毅夫), who defected to China in 1979 and currently works as a vice president at the World Bank, should not be allowed to return to Taiwan because of his continued act of treason. TSU party whip Hsu Chung-hsin (許忠信) said Lin’s case was different from the spies who were captured in China, making the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) planned prisoner exchange program illegitimate because Lin “had betrayed the army, Taiwan and his comrades.” Lin’s return would pave the way for the return of other Taiwanese defectors, TSU lawmaker Huang Wen-ling (黃文玲) said. The TSU said it supports the position of the Ministry of National Defense, which said on March 14 that Lin would be arrested and face treason charges if he returned.