Taiwanese politicians threw punches and pig guts in parliament in bitter dispute over US pork imports

• Members of Taiwan's main opposition party threw pig guts in parliament Friday in protest over the legalization of US pork imports.
• US pork that contains "acceptable" residues of the animal feed additive ractopamine will be allowed from January. Taiwan has banned the sale of pork from pigs fed on the drug since 2006.
• Opposition politicians have fought against the decision, citing concerns about ractopamine's effects on both animals and humans.
• The ruling party said the throwing of the pig guts was "disgusting" and a waste of food, adding that it "stank up" the parliament floor.

Legislators from Taiwan's main opposition party threw pig guts and exchanged punches with other lawmakers in parliament on Friday as they tried to stop the premier taking questions, in a bitter dispute over easing US pork imports.

President Tsai Ing-wen announced in August that from January 1, the government would allow imports of US pork containing ractopamine, as well as US beef from cattle that was more than 30 months old.

Ractopamine is an additive that enhances leanness. The drug is banned in most countries including the EU, mainland China, and Russia. It is legal in around 27 countries, including Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand. In the US, it is used to feed turkeys, and cattle, and between 60% and 80% of the country's pigs.

The sale of pork from pigs given ractopamine has been banned in Taiwan since 2006, but from 2012 the country allowed the use of the drug in cattle feed.

While welcomed in Washington, and removing a roadblock to a long sought-after US free trade deal for Taiwan, the KMT has strongly opposed the decision to allow US imports. They did so by tapping into public concern about food safety after several high-profile scandals in recent years.

Since the latest session of parliament began in mid-September, the main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT) has protested against the decision by blocking Premier Su Tseng-chang from speaking by occupying the podium.

Fed up with the paralysis, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) decided they were going to ensure Su could speak on Friday. They formed a protective barrier around him as he made his way in, as KMT lawmakers blew whistles, held banners, and sounded air horns.

As Su began speaking, KMT lawmakers threw buckets of pig guts his way, and some exchanged blows, during a short encounter between KMT legislators and Chen Po-wei, a member of the small Taiwan Statebuilding Party.

Su soon withdrew, but later got back up to try and take questions. His words were drowned out by KMT politicians.

The DPP condemned the protests, saying in a statement the throwing of the pig guts was a waste of food that "stank up" the parliament floor and was "disgusting," calling for a return to rational debate.

The KMT says the pork decision has been rushed through and is a health threat. The DPP denies this.

"In order to protect people's health and protect the bottom line of food safety, the opposition party cannot but resist," the KMT said of Friday's protest.

Taiwan is a rambunctious democracy and fighting is not uncommon in parliament.

The opposition hasn't just been limited to Taiwanese politicians. On Saturday, thousands of people gathered in the Taiwanese capital of Taipei to protest against the decision as part of an annual labor march.

Reporting by Ben Blanchard for Reuters, Grace Dean for Business Insider