Yang Zhiliang revealed: The Chen government promised not to test American beef with ractopamine

The Democratic Progressive Party paralyzed the legislative process of the Legislative Yuan, advocating "protecting the health of the people" and opposing American beef with ractopamine. However, former Director of the Department of Health Yang Zhiliang refuted this on the TVBS political talk show on the evening of the 15th, revealing that during the Chen administration, although the executive order to allow ractopamine was withdrawn, it privately promised the United States that "only pigs, not cattle" would be tested. It was not until he was in office that the Food and Drug Administration conducted the inspection and accidentally revealed the matter. He chose to announce it in accordance with the law, which made ractopamine an issue that has continued to this day.

Former Director of the Department of Health Yang Zhiliang revealed that the Chen government promised not to test American beef with ractopamine. (Photography by Zhang Yawen)

A few days ago, Chen Manli, chairperson of the Housewives' Union, revealed that President Ma personally called her and confessed that the government had not conducted any inspections in the past, so beef containing ractopamine had been imported for three or four years. This remark caused an uproar, and Democratic Progressive Party legislators even criticized the Ma government for dereliction of duty, emphasizing that the current law stipulates that there is zero detection of ractopamine. They also named officials from relevant ministries and departments for administrative negligence and said they should step down and take responsibility. In the last week of the Legislative Yuan session, they occupied the podium and left the Legislative Yuan idle.

However, Yang Zhiliang criticized directly on the "News Nightclub" program on the 15th: "The DPP is playing fake, it's just engaging in political struggles!" He pointed out that the Chen government had issued an executive order in 2007 to open up ractopamine and reported it to the WTO. At that time, the open areas included American beef and pork, and even expanded to internal organs. However, due to protests from pig farmers and pressure from the upcoming election, the order was finally withdrawn.

Democratic Progressive Party legislators have repeatedly used this history to emphasize that they value public opinion and protect the health of the people. However, Yang Zhiliang revealed that the Chen administration later promised the United States behind the scenes that it would only test for ractopamine in imported American pork and give American beef a break. As a result, American beef with ractopamine entered Taiwan in 2007. It was not until the Food and Drug Administration of the Department of Health was established in 2010 that the border inspection work was transferred from the Ministry of Economic Affairs. However, this promise was not explained, so the Food and Drug Administration discovered ractopamine during inspections in accordance with the law.

Yang Zhiliang was the Director-General of the Department of Health at the time. He said that after reporting to the Premier and the President, he believed that honesty was the best policy and he did not want to be caught by civil groups one day. However, the announcement of the presence of ractopamine in American beef also opened up a pressure cooker between Taiwan and the United States, making ractopamine a controversial issue. As a result, Yang Zhiliang was described by other guests on the show as "stirring up a hornet's nest."

Yang Zhiliang said that whether or not to allow beef containing ractopamine to be released is purely a political issue. He pointed out that if he were still in office, "I would not let it drag on for so long, I would leave after the announcement." However, he immediately emphasized that this was his personal opinion and he was not implying that the current director, Chiu Wen-tat, should step down as a solution.