DPP Opposes Nuclear Power Yet Imports Food Products from Fukushima

DPP Opposes Nuclear Power Yet Imports Food Products from Fukushima 
China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC) 
A Translation 
November 11, 2016

Executive Summary: In order to fast track the importation of food products from Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster area, the Tsai government hastily convened 10 public hearings in three days. This led to clashes in several counties and municipalities. Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee admitted during Legislative Yuan questioning that the government was subjected to Japanese pressure, and that was why the government allowed the imports. The Tsai government suddenly allowed food imports from a nuclear disaster area. It ignored legal procedure and resorted to strong arm tactics. How can the public not be suspicious?

Full Text Below:

In order to fast track the importation of food products from Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster area, the Tsai government hastily convened 10 public hearings in three days. This led to clashes in several counties and municipalities. Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee admitted during Legislative Yuan questioning that the government was subjected to Japanese pressure, and that was why the government allowed the imports. The Tsai government suddenly allowed food imports from a nuclear disaster area. It ignored legal procedure and resorted to strong arm tactics. How can the public not be suspicious?

Logically speaking, if one is opposed to nuclear power generation, one must oppose the importation of food products from nuclear disaster areas. How can one shrilly oppose nuclear power generation, demand zero tolerance for nuclear contamination, and at the same time encourage people to purchase food products from nuclear disaster areas? What sort of logic is that? Yet this self-contradictory scenario situation actually materialized on Taiwan. The government is obdurately opposed to nuclear power generation. It refuses to allow Nuclear Power Plant Number Four to go into operation. It refuses to allow Nuclear Power Plant Number One to resume operation following repairs. The government says one thing while it does another. It convened 10 public hearings in three short days, yet failed to come up with any specific security certification and management plans. It simply wants consumers to accept food products imported from a nuclear disaster area. What sort of anti-nuclear standards are these?

The Tsai government's self-contradictory policies have provoked skepticism from environmental groups. Even DPP legislators do not support them. The Tsai government has too many things it cannot explain away. For example, it insists that even the EU, whose health standards are the most stringent in the world, has allowed food imports from the nuclear disaster area. It insists that only Taiwan and the Mainland have not allowed in such imports. But the truth is the European Union never imported much food from Japan to begin with. The Tsai government named only Taiwan and the Mainland. But in fact Korea, Hong Kong, Macao, and others have not allowed food imports from the nuclear disaster area. The United States adopted an alternative approach. Unapproved products are immediately destroyed upon entry.

The Tsai government does not dare say how it intends to prevent low-level nuclear contamination of the food people eat. Inspection standards are looser on Taiwan than in Japan. During the second half of 2012, more than a year after the March 11 incident, many Japanese food products were found to contain radioactive cesium-137 and cesium-134, mainly from the Fukushima nuclear disaster. The half-life of cesium is 29 years. Therefore it has a serious impact on the environment. Food products found to contain over 100 BK/kg of radioactive substances are classified as low-level nuclear contaminated food in Japan. But Taiwan's inspection standards are more lax. In other words, the Japanese are not allowed to eat food products contaminated by nuclear waste, but such products may be sold to the people of Taiwan to eat. What sort of logic is this?

This is utterly incredible. Why is the Tsai government, which shrilly proclaims that it “loves Taiwan” more than anyone else, in such a hurry? Take the Ministry of Health and Welfare for example. The DPP has long stressed the importance of legal procedure. Yet the Tsai government is in a big hurry to hold public hearings, ram through its policies, and put the whole affair behind it. Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee spoke but said nothing. Was he trading the health of Taiwan's people for the sake of Taiwan Japanese relations?

Donald Trump has been elected president of the United States. His foreign policy will turn inward. The return to Asia policy will be subject to reevaluation. The East Asian strategic situation will change. The TPP is definitely DOA. Mainland Chinese pressure will increase Taiwan's strategic insecurity and economic marginalization. Tsai government representative to Japan Frank Hsieh commented on Trump's election victory. He said that given the rise of protectionism and isolationism, Taiwan should cope by taking advantage of its relationship with Japan. The Tsai government is clearly interested in closer cooperation with Japan. But is it willing to bet the people's health by importing food products from the nuclear contamination area as soon as possible?

No one objects to closer substantive relations between Taiwan and Japan. But is it really necessary to sacrifice peoples' health? Is an ally that demands the importation of food products from a nuclear disaster zone in order to have a relationship, really an ally that can be trusted? Since the Tsai government came to power, its behavior when confronted by Japan, on everything from Diaoyutai to Cong Zhi Niao Reef, can only be described as groveling. And for what? Fisheries rights? Hardly. So that James Soong and can be seen at the APEC summit, standing side by side with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, holding hands while press photographers snap away? Is it really necessary for our fellow citizens to live in fear? Is importing food products from nuclear disaster areas really worth it?

Why is the Tsai government so confident and bold? Perhaps another factor is involved. Most people on Taiwan have a favorable impression of Japan. They are fond of Japanese products. In particular, a recent opinion poll on public sentiment vis a vis Japan revealed that 56% of the people consider Japan their "favorite nation". This established a new record high. This data is probably accurate. But even a veteran Japanese journalist said the two governments should not abuse or misread this goodwill.

When the KMT government came under pressure from the United States and allowed US beef imports, the DPP resolutely opposed and strongly protested the move. But the moment the DPP assumed power, it allowed US pork imports. The Ma government proposed allowing the importation of Japanese food products from the nuclear disaster area. But the DPP shrilly opposed the move and blocked it. Now that the DPP has come to power however, it no longer takes the health of the people of Taiwan seriously. How can the DPP justify itself in the face of its past conduct?

It is not that food products from Japan's nuclear disaster area absolutely may not be imported. But the DPP has repeatedly boasted that it is the government most adept at communicating with the people. Shouldn't it first come up with an oversight mechanism with integrity, credibility, and consistent with international norms, to ensure food safety? Shouldn't it first communicate with the people, rather than attempt to smuggle its policies in on the sly, and ram its policies down peoples' throats?

反核不反核災食品 是什麼邏輯
2016/11/15 中國時報

為了盡快開放日本福島核災區食品進口，蔡政府3天內匆匆舉辦了10場公聽會，因而在多個縣市引爆衝突。外交部長李大維在立院接受質詢時承認，是受到日本壓力，政府才決定開放。蔡政府突然決定開放核災區食品進口，且不惜以違反「程序正義」手段企圖強渡關山，令人不能無疑。

邏輯上，只要反核，就應該反對核災食品，不可能一方面大聲反核，堅持零汙染，另一方面卻鼓勵大家購買核災食品，這是什麼邏輯？但矛盾的場景卻真實出現在台灣。這個堅定反對核能，堅持不讓核四啟動、不讓核一歲修後恢復發電的政黨所成立的政府，在資訊明顯不對稱情況下，意圖以短短3天時間，急促辦理10場公聽會，也沒有拿出任何具體安全證明與未來管理方案，就想讓消費者接受核災食品，這又是什麼反核標準？

蔡政府這種自我矛盾不僅引發環團質疑，連自家立委都不挺！其中說不清的地方實在太多，譬如蔡政府不斷告訴大家，衛生標準更嚴謹的歐盟都開放核災食品輸入，全世界僅剩台灣和中國不開放，但實情卻是，歐盟本來進口日本食品就少，而日本鄰近地區蔡政府只點名大陸與台灣不開放，卻不說韓、港、澳等都沒開放核災食品進口，美國則採負面表列，未開放項目進口立即銷毀。

蔡政府更不敢說的是，要如何有效防止遭汙染低階核汙食品被民眾食用。由於台灣相關檢驗標準比日本寬鬆！在311發生1年多以後的2012年下半年，許多日本食品當中都被驗出含有放射性銫-137及銫-134，主要是福島核災所造成。由於銫的半衰期長達29年，是影響環境相當嚴重的核輻射物質。而就算311發生至今已經5年，日本管制食品的部門，若是發現食品當中所有放射性物質含量超過100貝克/公斤，在日本就會被當成低階核汙染食品丟棄，但台灣的檢驗標準較寬鬆，換言之，日本人不准吃的核災食品，卻可以賣來給台灣人吃，這又是什麼道理？

這麼不可思議的事，為什麼高唱愛台灣比誰都大聲的蔡政府，會如此草率呢？看看衛福部，無視民進黨一貫強調的「程序正義」，以極其草率、急促、粗暴的態度舉辦公聽會，急於走完程序，加上外交部長李大維欲言又止，莫非意圖拿台灣人的健康交換台日的實質關係？

川普當選美國總統，其外交政策將轉趨內縮，重返亞洲政策將面臨重新檢討命運，東亞戰略情勢丕變，加上TPP確定告終。在中國大陸壓力下，我戰略安全及經濟邊緣化趨勢將更為嚴峻。駐日代表謝長廷評論川普當選時就明言，面對保護主義跟孤立主義抬頭，台灣應利用台日關係因應新的變局。由相關政府首長談話看來，蔡政府似乎有意與日本發展更緊密合作關係，是否因而不惜以國人健康做賭注，執意在最短時間開放核災食品進口呢？

沒有人反對台日實質關係應該更緊密，但這一定要拿國人健康做籌碼嗎？一個非要逼你開放核災食品進口，才願意跟你發展進一步實質關係的友邦，是可以信賴的朋友嗎？蔡政府上台後，從釣魚台到沖之鳥，對日本的態度大概可以用卑躬屈膝來形容了！但到現在又換來什麼呢？漁權嗎？沒有！如果只是為了能在APEC峰會中，讓宋楚瑜與日本首相安倍見上一面，握個手讓記者拍個照，就要國人陷入核災食品的恐懼中，這值得嗎？

蔡政府會這麼有自信，甚至這麼大膽，或許還有另一個因素，就是多數台灣人普遍對日本有好感，也非常喜歡日本產品，特別是前不久公布的一項有關對日情感的民調結果，其中有高達56%的民眾，在面對「你最喜歡的國家」這項問題時，選擇了「日本」，創下了歷年來最高紀錄。這個數據或許不假，但連日籍資深媒體人野島剛都在一篇評論中坦言，台日兩國政府都不應該濫用或誤讀這種好感！

當初國民黨政府受到美國壓力，擬政策性開放美牛，民進黨堅決反對、極力抗爭，結果自己一上台，就有意開放美豬。馬政府時代曾擬議開放日本核災食品進口，但當時民進黨團大聲反對才擋了下來，民進黨執政後，彷彿就不再把台灣人的健康當回事了。面對過去的自己，民進黨要如何自圓其說？

日本核災區食品不是絕對不能開放，但一再自稱是最會溝通的政府，就應該先拿出完整、有公信力、符合國際規範的管理機制，能夠確保民眾食安，然後和社會好好溝通，而不是以「偷渡」代替「溝通」，企圖霸王硬上弓。