TAIPEI: The Taipei city government took its first concrete step yesterday to boycott the new market-opening to US beef by issuing signs to be displayed by stores that have joined an alliance to reject the sale or use of what critics believe are potentially hazardous products.

In a symbolic move, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin affixed the first city government-issued logo on a retail outlet of the Matsusei supermarket chain on the city's Xinyi Road to indicate that the store will not supply US beef offal, ground beef or spinal cords.

Hau said more than 1,200 businesses, including restaurants, supermarket chains, fast food outlets, vending booths in traditional marketplaces and legally licensed street vendors, have signed up to join the city government-organized self-management alliance over health concerns about beef products from the US.

If stores carrying the alliance logo are found selling or using US ground beef, offal or spinal cords, they will be stripped of their certificates and fined in accordance with the Consumer Protection Law, Hau said.

Asked whether the city government's move is likely to create a backlash from the United States, Hau pointed out that the city government is perfectly within its legal rights to take the action.

"We believe the US authorities will understand our stance, because their local governments are also authorized to administer their jurisdictions on their own within legal boundaries," Hau said.

"Our efforts to strike a balance between upholding government policy and protecting the public's health and their right to know" are in our Taiwan's interest, he added.

Citing the results of a survey conducted October 26-29 by the city's Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, Hau said 75 percent of the respondents supported the boycott.

Meanwhile, 71 percent said they will select restaurants with the boycott sign when they eat out. The survey collected 1,727 valid sample responses, with a margin of error of 2.4 percent.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 11/05/2009 page2)