The propaganda of Clenbuterol was included in the newspaper today to reject the local self-set standards

In order to defuse the backlash against the policy of allowing American beef to contain ractopamine, the Executive Yuan Information Bureau printed three types of promotional materials, including leaflets, Q&A brochures and DMs, totaling 250,000 copies, which will be sent out in newspapers to the public starting today. In addition to reiterating that setting the allowable amount of ractopamine residues is an issue that continues from the international policy commitments made during the Chen administration, it also reiterated that management standards must be consistent across the country and that local governments should not set their own inspection standards.

The Executive Yuan Information Bureau printed three types of promotional materials and distributed them in newspaper inserts today to help the public better understand ractopamine. (Photo provided by the Information Bureau of the Executive Yuan)

Executive Yuan spokesman Yang Yung-ming said that in 2007 the government had already announced the domestic residue standards for the lean meat stimulant "ractopamine" and formally notified the World Trade Organization (WTO), indicating that setting ractopamine standards and opening up imports of such meat products are established policy directions. The propaganda document stated this history, emphasizing that the change of mind not only seriously affects our country's external bilateral economic and trade mutual trust, but also has a major negative impact on Taiwan-US bilateral relations. Therefore, it is necessary for the Ma government to actively deal with it.

The Q&A leaflet lists a number of frequently asked questions, hoping to help the public better understand ractopamine. Regarding the DPP-governed county and city heads' insistence on maintaining "zero detection" of clenbuterol, which is out of sync with the central government's policy, the propaganda material pointed out that "food safety and hygiene management standards must be consistent across the country, which is the central government's responsibility according to the law. Based on the position of administrative unity, if local county and city governments set their own standards, it will easily lead to disputes over standards and responsibilities, which is not conducive to the maintenance of public health." This is like giving local governments a soft nail.