Offal row: Taiwan MPs hurl pig guts

POLITICIANS in Taiwan threw pig guts – and punches – at each other over plans to allow US meat imports.

Premier Su Tseng- chang was due to discuss the policy in parliament when the opposing Kuomintang party started emptying bags of pig organs. The ruling Democratic Progressive Party attempted to stop them, leading to the confrontations.

President Tsai Ing-wen’s administration will lift a ban on imports of US pork and beef in January, in a move seen as the first step towards a trade deal with the US.

But the decision has been met with fierce opposition, both from Kuomintang and many ordinary citizens.

The ban was in place because the pork products contained residues of the feed additive ractopamine, used by some American farmers to promote lean meat.

The additive is banned in Europe and China over health fears. Last week, thousands marched in the Taiwanese capital Taipei to protest against the imports.