Yesterday, while replying to KMT Legislator Chiang Wan-an’s inquiry regarding Ractopamine Pork, Premier Su Tseng-chang mentioned that Pingtung’s Singskout Meat “very much supports” it, claiming that Singskout’s owner is also a KMT Central Standing Committee member, intending to satirize that the KMT also supports Ractopamine. Su’s remarks were immediately refuted and “slapped in the face” by a statement from Singskout Meat later that day, after which the Pingtung Fire Department immediately arrived for a “Water Meter Check.”
After Su Tseng-chang dragged Singskout into the ractopamine pork issue, Yang Po-jen, Chairman of Singskout and KMT Central Standing Committee member, emphasized publicly via video, “I strongly oppose the import of ractopamine pork, it’s impossible to agree to buy ractopamine pork as raw material for Singskout.”
Regarding whether he fears being “checked” by the government, Yang Po-jen specifically stated that he hoped there would be no such “small actions” and believes there shouldn’t be.
However, according to the KMT’s understanding, after Singskout issued a statement to rebut Su Tseng-chang, fire department units arrived for an inspection this morning, and the party headquarters further learned that there would be a second wave of actions by the fire department in the evening.
Central Standing Committee member Shen Ching-kuang reminded Yang Po-jen during a video session in the afternoon that the company might be “checked.” He noted that what ordinary people understand of “Water Meter Checks” goes beyond this for enterprises; for pork product exports, the central government can at any time through local governments inspect factory environmental hygiene and issue environmental protection fines, which is very easy; there could also be difficulties in customs inspection, increasing berthing costs for exports and delaying delivery times, which would affect corporate reputation. He affirmed Yang Po-jen’s courage to face facts while also advising him to be wary of subsequent government actions.
In response, Pingtung County Fire Department Deputy Chief Li Bin-zheng clarified that today was a scheduled fire safety inspection occurring once every two years, which was pre-arranged and not a “Water Meter Check.”