Taiwan Premier Vows to Protect Farming Interests in Wto Meeting

TAIPEI, Nov 16 Asia Pulse - Taiwan farmers' interests must be protected and this will be the top priority of a national delegation taking part in a World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha round ministerial-level meeting next month in Hong Kong, Premier Frank Hsieh said Tuesday.

Hiesh made the remarks during a legislative interpellation session while answering questions from opposition Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Lai Shing-yuan.

Pledging that Taiwan farmers' benefits must be secured in global negotiations, the premier said he will ask the team -- composed of officials from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Council of Agriculture -- to stick to this principle in the coming talks. "The whole Cabinet will back them up," he added.

Lai said that the interests of Taiwan farmers have been repeatedly undercut in WTO meetings and that they have had enough.

She blamed the government for having yielded too much in the past in exchange for other benefits.

She asked the premier to pledge that the Taiwan delegates will do their best to protect domestic farm interests in the next Doha Round meeting and demanded that he promise that Taiwan farmers' interests will not be sacrificed, even if it means the collapse of the talks.

A total of 148 WTO member states will send officials to take part in the next Doha Round on the opening of agricultural markets from Dec. 13-18 in the former British colony.

WTO member countries hope to be able to wrap up the thorny Doha Round talks by the end of next year.

(CNA)