20120504 3pm

3PM Intro

Good afternoon. It's time for ICRT news at 3. I'm Mike Woodward.

Legislature to Pick Up Beef Import Issue Next Week

Taiwan's legislature is slated to soon revisit the controversial issue of U.S. beef imports. Sources say draft amendments to the food sanitation act, which will largely determine whether more U.S beef imports will be allowed into Taiwan, are expected to be deliberated on the legislative floor next week. Yesterday, the ruling and opposition parties agreed that the bill will be reviewed in committee this coming Monday. There is said to be bipartisan consensus on the bill making it to the legislative floor. The parties agreed proposals pertaining to allowable levels of ractopamine, a leanness-enhancing livestock drug currently banned in Taiwan, and obligatory labeling to list the additive on meat products will be voted on during the committee session. Review of the bill was postponed following the discovery of a new case of mad cow disease in California on April 24. Premier Sean Chen said yesterday that Taiwan will immediately suspend imports of U.S. beef and relevant products if the World Organization for Animal Health raises the level of the U.S. mad cow disease risk. (jm)

Taiwan, China Islands Hold Exchange Forum

Taiwan's offshore island of Jinmen hosted a tourism forum and a painting and photography exhibition in collaboration with Taiwan's Penghu and China's Dongshan islands, paving the way for future exchanges among the three islands. Dongshan County head Huang Shui-mu, who was visiting Jinmen for the third time, said he hoped the three islands will become a successful model for cross-Taiwan Strait exchanges through more cooperation. The exchange forum was inaugurated in Dongshan last year and has become an annual event among the three participants. Jinmen County Magistrate Li Wo-shi said the three islands have already engaged in exchanges in the areas of sports, culture, trade and tourism. Penghu County Magistrate Wang Chien-fa said he plans to host the exchange forum next year. In addition, Wang said the county government will take advantage of the abundant ocean resources and wind power to create sustainable energy. (jm)

bin ladens docs

A set of documents obtained following the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound at Abbottabad, Pakistan, have been published online. The papers are just a small slice of what U.S. special forces recovered, and the analysts say, the goal of the release is to illustrate how the former leader of al Qaeda remained deeply involved in operations, despite living in hiding. Priscilla Huff has more:

national day of prayer

The Obama administration is being accused of shirking its constitutional responsibility to enforce the laws. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman says it happened at the National Day of Prayer observance on Capitol Hill.

weather

Taiwan weather forecast for tonight according to the Central Weather Bureau, thundershowers for all of Taiwan with lows tonite north, center and south respectively: 20, 23 and 24. At the moment Taipei is cloudy and 20, Taichung cloudy with mist and 25, Gauhsiung cloudy and 29.

3PM Outro

That's ICRT News at 3. Thank you for listening. I'm Mike Woodward.