Cabinet officials have held a press conference to address a list of guarantees sought by the KMT lawmakers.
The party’s lawmakers blocked Premier Lin Chuan from delivering a scheduled policy report to the legislature on Tuesday. They demanded that the premier sign a pledge on a number of issues of recent public concern.
At Wednesday’s press conference, Health Minister Lin Tzou-yien addressed one of these concerns, the question of whether Taiwan will relax restrictions on food imports from parts of Japan affected by the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Lin said that the health ministry bases its decisions on international standards and scientific evidence. He said there are no plans to loosen restrictions on food products from certain areas of Japan.
Deputy Foreign Minister Leo Lee addressed concerns about the government’s commitment to protecting fishermen operating near Japan’s Okintori Atoll. Japan claims that the atoll is an island, and that the waters around the atoll are an Exclusive Economic Zone. Taiwan argues that the waters around the atoll are international waters, and that fishermen have a right to operate in them.
Japan seized a Taiwanese boat operating in the area in April.
Lee said the government holds that the dispute should be dealt with according to international law. He said the government’s commitment to protecting Taiwanese fishermen has not changed. Taiwan and Japan will launch a mechanism for dialogue on the issue in July.
Meanwhile Deputy Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung said the government has no plans to discuss allowing imports of US pork. US pork typically contains ractopamine, a leanness-enhancing drug that is restricted in Taiwan. The ban is a major source of trade friction with the US.
Chen said there must be an independent risk assessment committee to submit scientific evidence before there is any discussion of changing the government’s policy on the drug.