Thousands in Taiwan march against US pork imports

Protester hold a pig model with a slogan 'betraying pig farmers' in Taipei, Taiwan, on Sunday. Pic/AP

Thousands of people marched in Taipei's streets on Sunday demanding the reversal of a decision to allow US pork imports into Taiwan, alleging food safety issues.

President Tsai Ing-wen's administration lifted a long-standing ban on US pork and beef imports in August. The ban is due to be lifted in January. That decision has met with fierce opposition, both by the opposition Kuomintang party and individual citizens. The new policy allows imports of pork with acceptable residues of ractopamine, a drug added into animal feed that promotes the growth of lean meat that some farmers use in pigs.

"I feel these days many who do business are not ethical. If they mix the US pork with Taiwan pork and then sell it to us average consumers, we as individuals have no way to know the source of the pork," said Kelvin Chen, a 54-year-old computer engineer. "I have a child and when we eat things with ractopamine, it's not good for our bodies," said Jacky Tsui, a 37-year-old factory worker. "I hope the government can see that we citizens oppose this."

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