November 2, 2009
A Taiwanese rights advocacy group has begun a petition to force a referendum to block the import of more US beef products.
The Consumers' Foundation has cited health concerns in urging non-governmental groups to join the referendum drive to boycott US bone-in beef imports.
According to referendum laws, the foundation needs to collect more than 860,000 signatures in order to have the matter voted on in Taiwan's parliament.
Recently, Taiwan decided to relax the bans on US bone-in beef and cow organs, sparking concerns over mad cow disease.
In December 2003, Taiwan banned all US beef imports after reports of mad cow disease. However, it permitted boneless beef imports in 2006 but still kept other offal restrictions in place.
