The mainland suspended the import of Taiwan's cherries and lotus mist, clamoring to "file a lawsuit with the WTO"; when New Zealand banned the entry of Taiwanese mangoes and lychees in June, it said it "respected the importing country's epidemic prevention treatment".
The "double standard" operation of Chen Jizhong, chairman of Taiwan's "Committee of Agriculture," has attracted ridicule and criticism from many netizens on the island. Chen Jizhong himself seemed to be a little embarrassed and angry, and he choked netizens back on Facebook, calling them "seriously ignorant".
According to a report by the China Television News Network on 21 September, Guo Zhengliang, a former "legislator" of Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party, unceremoniously criticized The "double standard" behavior of Chen Jizhong, chairman of Taiwan's "Committee of Agriculture," on the political discussion program "Normal Play" on 20 September.
Guo Zhengliang said in the program that on June 18 this year, a batch of oriental fruit fly larvae were found in mangoes and lychees shipped from Taiwan to New Zealand, so the New Zealand authorities ordered a moratorium on the entry of Taiwanese mangoes and lychees. So far, New Zealand still uses this as an excuse to ban the entry of Taiwanese mango lychees. At that time, Chen Jizhong's response to the matter was to "respect the epidemic prevention treatment of the importing country".
However, after the mainland announced the suspension of the import of cherimoya and lotus mist from Taiwan, Chen Jizhong, the "chairman of the Committee of Agriculture", threatened to propose trade arbitration to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Taiwan Lotus Mist Image source: Zhongshi News Network
Guo Zhengliang disclosed that according to the data released by Taiwan's "Agricultural Committee", among the fruits and imports imported into the mainland by Taiwan at that time, 13 were unqualified for cherimoya and 6 were unqualified for lotus mist. At that time, the mainland asked Taiwan to reply, and Taiwan's "Agricultural Committee" replied that it would strengthen the management of packaging plants. Guo Zhengliang said that after the mainland found 19 unqualified fruits, it did not immediately stop it, and until September, Taiwan still did not improve the situation, and only suspended the import of cherimoya and lotus mist from Taiwan.
Compared with new Zealand's immediate ban on the entry of Taiwanese mango lychees after only one case was found, the mainland has been very tolerant. However, Chen Jizhong, chairman of Taiwan's "Committee of Agriculture," adopted two completely different attitudes, and Guo Zhengliang criticized him for being "too obvious in double standards."
Guo Zhengliang
The incident also triggered ridicule and criticism from many netizens.
"It will only be political operations all day long, and Taiwan has been rendered invisible by you, so do you want to continue to manipulate it?"
"If you export to the mainland, then please follow the rules of the Chinese mainland... The 'Committee of Agriculture' should not double standard, and do not throw the pot to the mainland."
Some people also angrily criticized Chen Jizhong for being incompetent and having no political achievements, "Since you took office as the 'chairman' to the present, agriculture and fisheries have been miserable... Incompetent to the extreme, but also shamelessly opened his mouth to scold the buyer. ”
On the afternoon of the 21st, Chen Jizhong posted on Facebook, echoing those netizens who called him "double standard", saying that they were seriously ignorant of the so-called "international trade practice".
In the article, Chen Jizhong still continued the DPP's consistent argument, completely ignoring the quality of the fruit on the island, and "throwing the pot" at the mainland throughout the whole process. He claimed that the mainland "unilaterally suspended the import of fruits from Taiwan" and "adopted a surprise attack to notify today and ban it tomorrow," and so on.
As for New Zealand's ban on the entry of Taiwanese mangoes and lychees, Chen Jizhong said that the two sides are in accordance with "international norms" and formal procedures, and once the two sides agree on quarantine conditions, imports can be resumed.
Chen Jizhong's so-called "raid-style" prohibition on the mainland is fundamentally contradictory, and when he threatened to "file a lawsuit with the WTO" on the 19th, he said: "This year (in Taiwan), the number of unqualified cases of Shakya and Lotus Mist is 13 or 6, and they are all before the end of June. ”
In this regard, Hou Hanting, a member of the North City Council of the New Party, angrily rebuked: "Chen Jizhong said, 'If there is a non-conformity before June, why don't you inform it at that time', then there must be a notification, otherwise how do you know clearly that there were 13 and 6 unqualified cases before June?" ”
Chen Jizhong
In June, the mainland informed Shakya Guo and Lotus Mist that the situation had not improved for three months. After the mainland announced that it was forbidden to import, it blamed the mainland for being too "sudden."
A similar plot was staged as early as March this year when the mainland announced the suspension of Taiwanese pineapple imports. At that time, Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, specifically mentioned at the press conference that "in 2020, the mainland has repeatedly reported the unqualified situation of pineapples in Taiwan and reminded the Taiwan side to strengthen source control." However, this non-conformity has not improved, and we have not received any reply from the Taiwan side. ”
In addition, with regard to the DPP's use of such incidents to hype up and take advantage of the opportunity to attack and smear the mainland, Zhu Fenglian also made it clear that the decision of the General Administration of Customs is a normal biosecurity precautionary measure and is completely reasonable and necessary. The inspection and quarantine of imported agricultural products by the Customs in accordance with the law is the requirement of implementing relevant laws, regulations and standards, and it is also the need to prevent the risk of plant epidemics and protect the rights and interests of the people.
However, the DPP authorities have deliberately distorted and maliciously interpreted technical issues and taken advantage of the opportunity to attack and smear the mainland. This fully exposes their consistent practice of maliciously manipulating all cross-strait affairs, which shows that they have neither the will nor the ability to solve practical problems, and can only rely on slandering the mainland to evade their own responsibilities. The safety of agricultural products is closely related to agricultural production, ecological safety, food safety and people's rights and interests, and we have always attached great importance to it and will continue to take strict measures to control it.
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