EX-HEALTH MINISTER SUPPORTS REFERENDUM ON JAPANESE IMPORTS|反核食輸台 郝龍斌聯手楊志良連署公投

The debate over food imports from the Japanese nuclear disaster zones continues. KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin and KMT legislators are now calling for a referendum. They have been organizing movements to sign petitions. Former health minister Yang Chih-Liang also took part, stressing that Japanese food imports from nuclear disaster areas are not edible. ==PROTESTERS== No radiation contaminated food! We want a referendum! Former health minister Yang Chih-Liang came to this supermarket in Taipei and urged people to sign the petition opposing the lifting of the ban on Japanese food imports. ==YANG CHIH-LIANG, Former Health Minister== Food from the 5 Fukushima prefectures is absolutely inedible. Why? Nuclear contaminated wastewater has been discharged into the ocean for the past 5 years and 8 months. It just stopped last week. How can you eat these fish? We like the Japanese people, but we hate the Japanese government. Yang criticized both the Japanese government and the Tsai administration. He helped people sign the petition. The same movement is launched in Taipei and in Kaohsiung by the KMT. The KMT Kaohsiung City Council caucus has also proposed a bill to ban food imports from the 5 Fukushima nuclear disaster prefectures in Kaohsiung. ==HUANG SHAO-TING, Kaohsiung City Councilor== All Japanese food should label its city or origin. It's not enough to just label the country "Japan". Also, food imported from the 5 Fukushima nuclear disaster prefectures will be banned in Kaohsiung City. KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin and KMT legislator are calling for a referendum. However, it has been reported that other KMT leaders do not support this move and even asked local KMT offices not to participate in the petition for the referendum. ==HAO LUNG-BIN, KMT Vice Chairman== The KMT leadership is well aware of this petition. I have always maintained good communication with the party leadership. We hope the public can be a part of this. ==HUNG HSIU-CHU, KMT chair== The KMT's women's office has also been working on a petition. The public is calling for a referendum. I think this is a good thing. This will give the government pressure. The initial threshold for the petition is 93,000 people. The bill will then need to pass the second threshold of 930,000 signatures to be eligible for referendum processed by the Central Election Commission. TRANSLATED BY：CHRISTINA LIU ==抗議民眾== 拒吃核災食品 全民公投 站在市場出入口，呼籲各界響應連署，前衛生署長楊志良也當場連署，反對日本核災食品輸台。 ==前衛生署長 楊志良== 福島跟五個縣市的食品 能不能吃 當然不能吃 為什麼不能吃 它這個排放的 輻射汙染的水 五年八個月 到上個禮拜才停止排放 你說這魚能吃嗎 我們喜歡日本人 但是我們非常討厭日本政府 我罵他混蛋 楊志良左批日本政府苛刻、右批蔡政府兩套標準，堅決反對日本核災食品輸台，也坐下來協助民眾連署。不只台北，國民黨在高雄也發起連署行動，由於目前正是高雄市議會開議期間，高雄市國民黨團也提出高雄市食品安全管理自治條例的增修條文，只要通過，日本福島五縣的產品，全都不能在高雄販售。 ==高雄市議員 黃紹庭== (日本食品)全部都要表註 它的生產的縣市 不是只有日本國 第二點 只要是在福島五縣 有核災的地區(食品) 我們都禁止在高雄市流通 由國民黨副主席郝龍斌和國民黨立委發起的連署公投，外傳黨中央不支持，還傳出黨高層也要求各地方黨部不能配合公投連署活動。 ==國民黨副主席 郝龍斌== 黨中央本來就很清楚這件事情 而且我跟黨中央溝通一直很順暢 這些事情我們希望全民來參與 ==國民黨主席 洪秀柱== 我們這兩天由婦女部 也發動連署 既然有民間大家來發起這公投 我覺得這好事啊 也是給政府一個施壓的動作 希望連署人數能跨越第一階段門檻、9萬3千人，接下來第二階段連署要跨越93萬人的門檻，才能成案，送交中選會辦理公投。 記者 台北/高雄報導