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Taiwanese lawmakers threw pork guts on the floor of Parliament and fought fists to protest an expected policy change allowing U.S. imports of pork and beef.
The Nationalist Opposition Party (KMT) threw bags of pork organs on the floor of Parliament as Premier Su Tseng-chang was supposed to report to lawmakers on pork policy.
Lawmakers from Su’s Progressive Democratic Party (DPP) tried to stop the protest, which sparked fighting, The Associated Press reported on Friday. A DPP lawmaker reportedly beat a KMT lawmaker to the ground amid the chaos.
The mess came after President Tsai Ing-wen’s administration decided to end the ban on imports of American pork and beef in August. The lifting of the ban, scheduled for January, marks a move towards a bilateral trade deal with the United States
The updated policy aims to allow imports of pork with approved levels of residues of ractopamine, a drug that some farmers put in animal feed to obtain more lean meat. But thousands of people demonstrated against the new policy on Sunday.
Opposition party members who left pork guts on the floor of Parliament wore black T-shirts with the text “Oppose Ractopamine-Pork”.
“When you were in opposition you were against American pork. Now that you are in power, you have become a supporter of American pork, ”KMT lawmaker Lin Wei-chou said, according to the AP.
DPP Deputy Hsu Sheng-chieh said, “You prevented Premier Su from reposting in Parliament 12 times. Please come to your senses. “
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