Referendum drive against U.S. beef imports enters second phase

Foundation Chairman Hsieh Tien-jen, along with representatives of four other civil groups campaigning for the drive, visited the Central Election Commission (CEC) earlier in the day to collect the forms for the second-phase public endorsement.

Announcing the beginning of the operation, Hsieh said he hopes they can persuade 1 million eligible voters to sign the petition before an Aug. 10 deadline.

The proposed referendum will ask voters to "veto the government's decision in November to open Taiwan's market to U.S. bone-in beef, ground beef and bovine offal and spines from cattle aged under 30 months" and demand that the government renegotiate the beef trade protocol with the United States that opened Taiwan's market to the beef products.

Hsieh noted that the dispute on U.S. beef imports has not been resolved and that Washington has threatened to retaliate against Taiwan for breaking promises in the U.S.-Taiwan beef protocol signed last October.

Even though the Legislative Yuan has voted to revise the law to force the government to reinstate a ban on imports of U.S. ground beef and beef offal, Washington can still demand that Taipei open its market based on the protocol, he said.

Calling for the public to stand up and be counted, Hsieh said the civic groups hope the people will show the U.S. government their objection to U.S. bone-in beef out of fear of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease.

Under the Referendum Act, a petition is subject to the approval of the Cabinet's Referendum Screening Committee in the first phase of screening, during which the initiator must obtain the endorsement of at least 0.5 percent of the eligible voters in the previous presidential election.

The Consumers' Foundation-led initiative passed the first stage last month, collecting 129,000 signatures and far surpassing the required 86,000 from among the 17.32 million eligible voters in the 2008 presidential election.

In the second phase, the initiators must secure within six months the endorsement of at least 5 percent, or 860,000, of the eligible voters.

In response to the referendum drive, Department of Health (DOH) Vice Minister Hsiao Mei-ling said they will seek to make all the relevant information transparent to allow consumers to see that the government has never stinted on its efforts to safeguard public health.

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