VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #1284/01 3060928
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 020928Z NOV 09
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2586
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 9461
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0876

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001284 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/P, EAP/PD - THOMAS HAMM 
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S. BEEF IMPORTS TO TAIWAN 
 
¶1. Summary:  Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies continued to 
focus news coverage from October 31 through November 2 on the 
"storm" over the Taiwan government's decision to allow the import of 
U.S. beef, offal and spinal cords and its aftermath; on the alleged 
game fixing by several Taiwan professional baseball players; and on 
the developments in cross-Strait relations. 
 
¶2.  Editorials and op-ed pieces in Taiwan's major Chinese-language 
dailies continued to lash out at the Ma Ying-jeou administration's 
decision to allow the import of U.S. beef, while some called for a 
referendum to be held and the Legislative Yuan to take strong 
actions against the decision.  A column in the pro-independence 
"Liberty Times" lambasted the Ma administration's decision and said 
it is the Taiwan people's health that will be harmed by allowing the 
imports of U.S. beef offal.  A DPP legislator wrote in a "Liberty 
Times" op-ed that Ma's decision to make concessions to the United 
States proved that his 'diplomatic truce' doctrine has fallen apart. 
 An op-ed piece in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" said that 
because Taiwan's domestic law has precedence, Taiwan should 
renegotiate the U.S. beef imports with the United States.  An 
editorial in the KMT-leaning "China Times" said Taiwan should have 
learned its lesson from its previous WTO talks over rice wine.  An 
column in the China-focused "Want Daily" said President Ma has not 
only failed to gain any political interests in allowing the imports 
of U.S. beef but might possibly sacrifice the health of Taiwan 
people.  An editorial in the conservative, pro-unification, 
English-language "China Post" said the beef war is over, with nobody 
being the winner.   End summary. 
 
A) "Where Is the Beef Offal?" 
 
The "Free Talk" column in the pro-independence "Liberty Times" 
[circulation: 680,000] wrote (11/1): 
 
'... 'Where is the beef offal?' -- this question has also hit the 
vital point of Ma Ying-jeou; Ma opened [Taiwan's market] to U.S. 
beef offal; he is more than willing to lose his pants to show 
weakness to the United States in an attempt to use this as an excuse 
for his bowing down to China when signing the Economic Cooperation 
Framework Agreement (ECFA) [with Beijing in the near future].  But 
it is the [Taiwan] people's health that will be harmed [if Taiwan] 
allows the import of U.S. beef offal that has the risk of [carrying] 
mad cow disease.  When signing the ECFA with China and thus allowing 
China to directly control Taiwan's economy, what will be sold out 
will be [Taiwan's] national sovereignty!" 
 
B) "The Ma Administration's Diplomatic Slaughterhouse" 
 
DPP Legislator Ke Chien-min opined in the pro-independence "Liberty 
Times" [circulation: 680,000] (10/31): 
 
"President Ma announced openly that in order to resume talks on the 
Taiwan-U.S. Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), a free 
trade agreement, and an extradition agreement between Taiwan and the 
United States, or further, [for Taiwan] to be included in the U.S. 
visa waiver program, [Taiwan] has no other alternative but to make 
concessions during its talks with Washington over U.S. beef.  Such a 
statement is not only a public announcement [telling us] that [Ma's] 
'diplomatic true] doctrine has already fallen apart but also an 
excuse to shift [the Taiwan people's] focus and to evade [the Ma 
administration's] responsibility for its failure to [defend Taiwan's 
interests] during the beef talks. ... 
 
"The warning signal revealed by the talks over U.S. beef this time 
was that the Ma administration has now lost its balance in terms of 
strategic relations among Taiwan, the United States and China.  As a 
matter of fact, the more that the Ma administration tilts toward 
China in terms of the strategic equilibrium among Taiwan, the United 
States and China, the more it will arouse doubts from the United 
States.  Such a development will only result in a vicious cycle of 
[Taiwan's] losing its bargaining chips in talking with the United 
States.  It appears now that the so-called diplomatic truce [policy] 
has already been killed by the converging attacks by the United 
States and China. ..." 
 
C) "Surely [We] Can Scrap the Agreement and Renegotiate [the Import 
of U.S. Beef]" 
 
Professor Chiang Huang-chih of National Taiwan University's College 
of Law opined in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" [circulation: 
520,000] (11/2): 
 
"What is incredibly horrible in terms of the 'Protocol on U.S. Beef 
Imports to Taiwan' is at least the following two [items]:  First, 
the full opening of [Taiwan's market to] the highest risk materials 
[in U.S. beef], including brain, spinal column, offal, and ground 
beef (General Requirements 18).  Second, giving up [Taiwan's] rights 
to protect its people the minute something really happens!  When the 
United States uncovers any mad cow disease case, our country 
 
originally had the authority to ban imports of U.S. beef 
immediately, as was the case before.  But under the 'protocol,' 
Taiwan has no right to ban U.S. beef imports; it cannot act until 
the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) determines the case 
based on the investigation report filed by the United States 
(General Requirements 3). What the Minister of Health claimed so 
righteously '[Taiwan] will immediately stop imports [of U.S. beef] 
once [BSE] case is uncovered in Taiwan' is obviously too optimistic. 
 Based on the 'protocol,' even if there were 100 such cases, let 
alone one, and one can prove they were caused by U.S. beef, Taiwan 
still has 'no right' to ban U.S. beef imports; [Taiwan's] every move 
must depend on U.S. goodwill and be determined by an international 
organization.  Is it a must that such a 'protocol' be implemented? 
The [Ma] administration determined that 'the deal is signed and 
cannot be scrapped.'  All Taiwan government officials said 
unanimously that once [Taiwan and the United States] renegotiate 
[the beef issue], it will do severe damage to [Taiwan's] prestige in 
the international community.  'But is it truly so?' ..." 
 
D) "Why Do U.S. Mad Cows Put Taiwan People on the Verge of 
Hysteria?" 
 
Cyrus C. Y. Chu, Distinguished Research Fellow at the Academia 
Sinica's Institute of Economics, wrote in the "Hall of Fame" column 
in the pro-unification "United Daily News" [circulation: 400,000] 
(11/2): 
 
"Taiwan-U.S. talks on reopening the imports of U.S. beef have 
triggered a huge storm lately, and the cause of the storm was that 
the Americans requested that [Taiwan] open to imports of U.S. beef 
bone, ground beef, beef offal.  Many of Taiwan's experts have 
concerns about this aspect.  An AIT official said, the chances are 
slim for people to contract mad cow disease by eating beef, and the 
rate for that was far lower that the risks of scooter accidents. 
[Taiwan's] Cabinet officials also said the chance of getting ill 
because of eating imported beef is one in a hundred millions.  But 
the Taiwan people obviously cannot recognize such arguments, as 
evidenced in the way that the boycott movement launched by the 
Taipei City and other local governments have been echoed by many 
people [around the island].  ... 
 
"Washington believes that 'expanding' the imported [beef] items [to 
Taiwan] would be beneficial for the United States, but the truth 
says the opposite.  Expanding the imported [beef] products to 
include the risky ones while the consumers have no knowledge of 
which ones are risky and which are not, it will generate the effect 
of 'a speck of rat dung spoiling a whole pot of porridge.' ..." 
 
E) "Lessons Learned from Rice Wine to Beef" 
 
The KMT-leaning "China Times" [circulation: 120,000] editorialized 
(10/31): 
 
"... In terms of the expanded import of U.S. beef, the [Taiwan] 
authorities said expanding the import of U.S. beef has become a 
stepping stone for talks between Taiwan and the United States, and 
that there is no way both sides can talk further unless the beef 
issue is resolved.  Such an argument sounded exactly the same as 
what the Taiwan government said when it was anxious to enter the 
World Trade Organization and thus had to make concessions over 
[locally made] rice wine.  It seemed to indicate that when it comes 
to trade and economic talks with its rival countries in the future, 
all Taiwan can do is to let others take what they want. ...  From 
rice wine to beef, because of the beautiful vision of trade 
liberalization, the government has failed to play the role of a 
gatekeeper for the interests of its people during the process of 
trade talks [with other countries].  It has also underestimated the 
negative impact its decision might have on society. ..." 
 
F) "Taiwan Political Leaders Must Develop New Thinking" 
 
Nanfang Shuo (pseudonym for Wang Hsing-ching), a political 
commentator and cultural critic, wrote in a column in the China 
focused "Want Daily" [circulation: 100,000] (11/2): 
 
"... For now, the global consensus toward cross-Strait issues is to 
maintain the status quo; even China cannot violate such a global 
consensus by trying to forcefully alter the status quo across the 
Taiwan Strait.  As a result, there will not be any fundamental 
changes to the United States' fixed policy toward Taiwan just 
because of minor interests such as [Taiwan's] opening its market to 
U.S. beef.   Ma Ying-jeou followed the previous old thinking of 
taking care of U.S. interests first, because he does not understand 
the basic agenda of the international situation, and that's why he 
has failed to resist [U.S.] pressure.  In reality, it will not harm 
Taiwan's national interests if Taiwan adopts a tough attitude on the 
U.S. beef issue; all that will be impacted will be Ma's and Su Chi's 
personal relations with the United States, such as the treatment 
they will receive when they transit in the United States in the 
 
future.  The Ma administration has not only failed to gain any 
political interest from its decision to allow U.S. beef imports, but 
it may have sacrificed the health of the Taiwan people. ..." 
 
G) "The Beef War Is Over with No Winners" 
 
Columnist Joe Hung wrote in his column in the conservative, 
pro-unification, English-language "China Post" [circulation: 30,000] 
(11/2): 
 
"The beef war is over.  And nobody is the winner. ...  The outcome 
is that the administration has lost face for failure to exercise due 
disaster control; the opposition party did not succeed in 
startlingly embarrassing the government, for risky beef was first 
allowed to enter Taiwan while President Chen Shui-bian was in 
office; and Uncle Sam has unwittingly alienated the people of Taiwan 
who believe the Americans are their best friends abroad.  There is 
no need whatsoever for the Americans to estrange the people of 
Taiwan by helping cattle raisers to earn a few million dollars more 
a year by selling ground and bone-in beef as well as offal. ..." 
 
STANTON