A civic movement to hold a referendum on US beef imports cleared another hurdle yesterday, passing a review by the Cabinet’s Referendum Screening Committee by a vote of 16-0.

After a meeting that lasted a little over an hour, committee chairman Chao Yung-mau (趙永茂) announced that the petition launched by the Consumers’ Foundation met the criteria in the Referendum Act (公民投票法), and “we have therefore decided to approve [it].”