Taiwan to "skirt" Tiaoyutai issue with Japan, says COA

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on June 7, 2006. It reports that the Council of Agriculture in Taiwan will expand an insurance program against pig death in 2006, in an attempt to reduce the possibility that pig farmers would sell pigs that have died of illness for human consumption.

The insurance program was launched in central Taiwan's Yunlin and Taichung counties on a trial basis in 2005. Now, in 2006, the program will be expanded to Changhua, Chiayi, Tainan and Kaohsiung counties, as well as Hsinchu, Taichung and Tainan cities. The goal is to have 2 million swine covered by the provision. According to the Council of Agriculture, the premium for each pig is NT$21.6. The government contributes 70 percent, while pig farmers contribute 30 percent.

According to the Council of Agriculture, the coverage is NT$1,200 per pig, while the compensation ceiling is 15 pigs for every 1,000 pigs insured. In 2005, a total of 619,803 pigs in Yunlin and Taichung counties were covered by the insurance program.