Taiwan voters reject proposal that was obstacle to U.S. trade deal

In a surprise setback for Beijing, Taiwan’s ruling party celebrated the outcome of a referendum vote on Saturday that cleared the way for a trade agreement with the U.S.

The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which supports closer ties to Washington over Beijing, claimed victory on all four questions put to voters on Saturday. Most significantly, citizens rejected a proposal that would have banned imports of pork containing trace amounts of ractopamine, an animal-feed additive common on U.S. farms that increases the leanness of meat.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, a member of the DPP, hailed the vote as a victory for democracy and the people of Taiwan. “The people of Taiwan hope to walk towards the world and are willing to actively participate in international affairs,” she said at a news conference following the vote.

The outcome was a setback for Taiwan’s opposition Chinese Nationalist Party, which supports closer ties to Beijing. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory.

China and the European Union maintain bans on ractopamine, citing concerns about adverse effects on animals that consume it, like stiffness and impaired mobility. Taiwan implemented its own ban in 2006, but the legislatures passed a bill to allow beef imports with trace amounts of the additive in 2012. 

Efforts to repeal the bans for other meats, like pork, have faced resistance from domestic producers. On the other hand, the ban on pork with trace amounts of ractopamine has been a sticking point for the U.S. and it’s powerful meat industry.

Critics of ractopamine point to a low turnout, only 41% of eligible voters, to say the vote does not reflect the electorate. A majority voted against the pork ban, but the outcomes are not considered valid because they did not meet the minimum turnout threshold. The Consumers Foundation Chinese Taipei called for mandatory additive labelling for all meat imports after the vote.

Other questions the DPP claimed victory on regarded a suspended nuclear plant, relocating a new liquefied natural gas terminal away from an algal reef, and a mandate that all referendums must be held alongside general elections.