March 4, 2004

 

 

Hong Kong Live Chicken Import Bans To Stay

 

The Hong Kong government has refused to lift the live chicken import ban from China despite threats of a boycott and strike.

 

Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Yeoh Eng-kiong told the Legislative Council yesterday it is better to be safe than sorry.

 

About 600 chicken vendors and transport workers demonstrated outside the chamber, calling for the ban to be lifted by Wednesday.

 

A motion raised by agricultural sector lawmaker Wong Yung-kan, urging the government to resume the importation of live birds, was also rejected in Legco last night.

 

Yeoh told councillors that bird flu, which has hit 10 Asian countries and 11 mainland provinces, remains a "severe threat to public health".

 

He said the government will maintain its strict preventive measures and will not resume the importation of live birds in the near future.

 

The government had already offered special allowances for chicken traders "at this difficult time" and is now studying the possibility of low-rate loans and retraining programmes for industry operators and workers, he said.

 

However, agricultural sector lawmaker Wong Yung-kan said Hong Kong's zero infection is also largely due to precautionary measures taken by the sector which will be devastated if the ban on imports continues.

 

"How can industry workers survive if live chicken imports remain suspended for half a year?" he asked. "The entire industry will be destroyed."

 

Liberal Party catering sector lawmaker Tommy Cheung accused the government of trying to "kill off the industry and pave the way for the introduction of a centralised slaughtering system".

 

He said the government should take immediate steps to assure people it is safe to eat poultry. It should also take proper measures to assist affected workers and traders.

 

Hong Kong Poultry Wholesalers' Association chairman Tsui Ming-tuen again called on the government to lift the ban on imports by Wednesday if no more bird flu cases are reported in Guangdong.

 

He said if that is so it will be the 21st day since the last known case and will meet guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation.

 

Failure to call off the ban, Tsui said, will prompt an indefinite boycott by association members on Thursday and bring a threatened hunger strike even closer.