The public has chosen “pig” as the word of the year for the Legislature. This isn’t a reflection of how people feel about lawmakers: instead, it has to do with one of this year’s hot-button political issues—pork.
When the group Citizen Congress Watch asked member of the public to choose a Chinese character that summed up the past year in the Legislature, the character for “pig” won. It beat out eleven runners up, including characters that mean “bribery”, “relief”, “fight”, “inaction”, and “lethargy”.
Pigs have dominated recent news from the Legislature in recent months, as Taiwan moves to allow in imports of US pork containing the additive ractopamine. Some in Taiwan remain unconvinced that the additive is safe for human consumption, and discussion of the issue among lawmakers has been rowdy. It’s even taken a turn for the disgusting, with opposition lawmakers throwing pig guts in the chamber during one session in November.
Citizen Congress Watch said the public’s selection of “pig” as word of the year signals concerns over food safety.
The group also announced a list of this year’s top ten news stories related to the Legislature. The stories chosen by the public include a corruption scandal involving lawmakers across the political spectrum, followed, of course, by the pig-gut-throwing incident.