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Viewing cable 09AITTAIPEI1295, MEDIA REACTION: U.S. BEEF IMPORTS TO TAIWAN

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09AITTAIPEI1295 2009-11-04 09:36 2011-08-23 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #1295/01 3080936
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 040936Z NOV 09
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2604
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 9468
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0883
UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001295 
 
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:  On November 4, Taiwan's major Chinese-language and 
English-language dailies continued to give extensive coverage to the 
controversy caused by the Taiwan government decision to allow the 
import of U.S. beef and beef products.  The pro-independence 
"Liberty Times" ran a front-page banner headline reading "The United 
States Warns That Setting Limitations on U.S. Beef [Imports] Is 
Inconsistent with the Agreement [It Signed with Taiwan]."  The 
KMT-leaning "China Times," on the other hand, ran a front-page 
banner headline reading "Legislative Yuan Rushes to Amend the Law to 
Block U.S. Beef Imports." 
 
2. Editorials and op-ed pieces in Taiwan's papers continued to 
direct their criticism against the import of U.S. beef and offal at 
the poor accountability and credibility of the Ma administration.  A 
column and an op-ed in the pro-independence "Liberty Times," a 
"China Times" editorial, and an editorial in the pro-independence, 
English-language "Taiwan News" all lambasted the Ma administration 
for its opaque decision-making process. Several op-ed pieces have 
linked the beef issue with the year-end city mayors' and county 
magistrates' elections around the island and urged the public to 
vote against the ruling KMT in the upcoming elections.  A "China 
Times" commentary criticized the pro-DPP Green camp for trying to 
use the beef storm to beat up on the KMT and to fool the voters 
during the election campaigning.  An op-ed in the China-focused 
"Want Daily" criticized Taiwan National Security Council Secretary 
General Su Chi for seeking to link the decision to import U.S. beef 
with the talks over the U.S.-Taiwan free trade agreement and U.S. 
arms sales to Taiwan, saying that these are all separate issues.  A 
separate "China Times" op-ed, written by an associate professor in 
food science, however, urged the public to look at the beef issue 
rationally and said Taiwan does not have to renegotiate the beef 
deal at the expense of its national credibility.  An editorial in 
the conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post" 
cited the previous cases of referenda in Taiwan and said a 
referendum on U.S. beef imports will not succeed in the end.  End 
summary. 
 
A) "Ma Ying-jeou Is Still Fooling [the Taiwan People]!" 
 
The "Free Talk" column in the pro-independence "Liberty Times" 
[circulation: 680,000] wrote (11/4): 
 
"The fact that the Ma Ying-jeou administration, given its black-box 
[decision-making] process, has signed an 'unequal treaty' [with the 
United States] on the imports of U.S. beef and thus sold out the 
health of the Taiwan people has triggered [many] repercussions.  In 
order to 'put out the fire,' the Ma administration has worked out a 
series of administration measures on the one hand, and some Blue 
camp people, on the other hand, have stepped forward to demand that 
[the Ma administration] renegotiate the deal.  But a close look 
[into all these actions] can tell [you] that Ma is just playing a 
double-faced strategy; all these are nothing but feigning political 
movements to fool the [Taiwan] people! ... 
 
"The Ma administration claimed earlier that the agreement signed 
between Taiwan and the United States has precedence over domestic 
law, but now it is arguing that a series of administrative measures 
will be able to block the imports of [U.S.] beef offal.  [The move] 
is akin to slapping one's own face; will the [Taiwan] people allow 
Ma to continue fooling them at his will?" 
 
B) "Looking at Taiwan's Security from [the Perspective of] Beef and 
Ma" 
 
Columnist Paul Lin wrote in the pro-independence "Liberty Times" 
[circulation: 680,000] (11/4): 
 
"... Evidently, the import of some risky parts of U.S. beef into 
Taiwan has triggered people's alarm over their health and safety. 
If the Ma administration does not want to renegotiate the deal [with 
the United States], it will be difficult to resolve this safety and 
health problem. ...  China's opposition against the United States 
normally stems from its ideology and need to vie for supremacy, 
while Ma is inducing the [Taiwan] public to oppose the United States 
in an attempt to cater to China and in the hope that the U.S. 
government will not expose his green card and tax matters. 
 
"The United States is Taiwan's best friend and the interests between 
the two cannot be separated.  This is the history and the truth. 
Taiwan purchasing products from the United States serves the United 
States' interests, but it must not endanger Taiwan's major 
interests.  Ma is hypocritical in the way that he tries to curry 
favor with the United States by taking care of U.S. interests while 
sacrificing the health of the Taiwan people.  What really benefits 
both countries is Taiwan's military procurements from the United 
States, because that is also what Taiwan needs for its own security. 
 Ma is evil-minded in the way that he has been sabotaging Taiwan's 
arms procurement from the United States for a long time while now he 
is trying to curry favor with the United States by sacrificing the 
 
health of his people.  To resolve such a predicament, the Ma 
administration should first admit its mistake to the U.S. government 
that it has failed to take Taiwan's public opinion into 
consideration.  Only by apologizing sincerely [to the United States] 
can there be a chance for the United States to consider reopening 
the talks [on U.S. beef] ..." 
 
C) "[The Ma Administration] Should Have Stuck to Its Original 
Scenario Had It Known Earlier" 
 
The KMT-leaning "China Times" [circulation: 120,000] editorialized 
(11/4): 
 
"With the [Taiwan people] remaining indignant over the U.S. beef 
issue, the question that the public wants to know badly is:  Could 
it be possible that no one [in the Taiwan government] has ever 
anticipated what would happen?  Be it over-confident or cocky, one 
thing is for sure:  namely, the high-ranking [Taiwan] officials have 
totally overlooked the impact [of the decision to import U.S. beef]. 
... Prior to the [decision to] open Taiwan's market to U.S. beef, 
had the [Taiwan] authorities actually gone over step by step the 
possible reactions of the public?  Have they really thought it over 
that as a responsible government, they should provide sufficient, 
detailed and accurate information on U.S. beef to the people? 
Information such as which country allows import of which part [of 
U.S. beef], and which parts of the beef the Taiwan government plans 
to allow to import and which does not are what the Ma administration 
was obliged to tell its people before it made the decision to open 
the Taiwan market to U.S. beef. ... 
 
D) "An International Deal Is Closely Related to the Credibility of a 
Nation" 
 
Associate Professor Lee Hsiu-chin from Tajen University's Department 
of Food Science and Technology opined in the KMT-leaning "China 
Times" [circulation: 120,000] (11/4): 
 
"...Given the [parts of] U.S. beef that the Department of Health 
decided to import, the chances for getting ill by eating the most 
risky part (i.e. ground beef) are 5.77 in ten billion.  Some people 
argued that 'we must not import it as long as the chance of getting 
ill is not zero.'  Such logic resulted from unlimited exaggeration 
actually will not help to clarify the issue.  No food can be said to 
be 'one hundred percent' safe.  The Taiwan people have consumed 
boneless U.S. beef for three years now, which also carries a risk of 
7.18 out of a trillion.  Does that mean we have to ban the boneless 
beef as well?  The goal that public health is after should be to 
work out an acceptable risk standard. ... In terms of U.S. beef, the 
international standard is the one set by the World Organization for 
Animal Health (OIE), which excludes all the specified risk materials 
--the distal ileum of the small intestine and the tonsils, and the 
remaining parts of the cattle are safe to eat.  The protocol that 
Taiwan signed with the United States has actually adopted a stricter 
and more limited standard that that of the OIE. ... 
 
"The next question then comes to: Can Taiwan unilaterally repudiate 
the protocol it signed with the United States?  The answer is yes. 
It's not that [we] cannot do it, but the question is how much are 
[we] willing to pay to do so?  ...  The key lies in the fact that 
given Taiwan's difficult situation in the international community, 
its credibility is the island's biggest asset.  If Taiwan can rashly 
repudiate a written international agreement, what else does it have 
to win the trust of its allies or the international community? 
 
"Finally, if the public has overwhelming doubts about U.S. beef, 
what we should do is prevent the import of those controversial parts 
[of the cattle] via powerful administrative measures under the 
pre-condition that we do not violate the obligations stipulated in 
our agreement. ..." 
 
E) "Playing the U.S. Beef Card to Fool the Voters for Their Votes" 
 
The "Short Commentary" column in the KMT-leaning "China Times" 
[circulation: 120,000] (11/4): 
 
"In the face of the mounting rage against U.S. beef in [Taiwan] 
society, the Green camp decided recently not to beat up on the 
Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement [that Taiwan is planning to 
sign with China] but to play the card of U.S. beef.  Frank Hsieh, 
the DPP's former presidential candidate, even said that as long as 
the DPP can win seven seats in the year-end city mayors' and county 
magistrates' elections, the Central Government will have to 
renegotiate the [beef] deal with the United States and thus ban the 
beef products that carry the risk of mad cow disease from coming 
into Taiwan.  But we dare guarantee that even if the Green camp wins 
all the seats in the year-end elections, the Central Government will 
not re-start the talks with the United States. ..." 
 
F) "Beef, Free Trade Agreement, and Security in the Taiwan Strait" 
 
 
Chen Yu-chun, a Taiwan academic now working as a senior research 
fellow at China's Tsinghua University, opined in the China-focused 
"Want Daily " [circulation: 10,000] (11/4): 
 
"... [Taiwan's] National Security Council official used [the signing 
of] a free trade agreement to emphasize why Taiwan had to yield to 
the United States [over the import of U.S. beef].  But [the signing 
of] a U.S.-Taiwan free trade agreement is an issue that has existed 
for a long time.  It is very nave to say that once Taiwan opens its 
market to U.S. beef, Washington will sign the agreement with Taipei. 
... 
 
"The democratic government of Japan recently adjusted Japan's 
security relations with the United States, a move that has drawn 
grave concerns from the United States, which has already openly 
urged Tokyo not to endanger the foundation of the Japan-U.S. 
alliance.  If Japan is altering [its policy], Washington will only 
attach more importance to Taiwan's strategic position rather than 
weakening it.  At the current stage, China and the United States are 
in a situation 'where they fight with each other without breaking 
[the relationship], vie against each other without going to war.' 
How is it possible that Washington will cast Taiwan's security 
interests aside just in exchange for the beef trade that is of a 
non-strategic level and thereby impact the United States' grand 
strategic plan for China?" 
 
G) "A Referendum on Beef Imports from the United States?" 
 
The conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post" 
[circulation: 30,000] editorialized (11/4): 
 
"Taiwan's Consumers' Foundation and a few other private non-profit 
organizations, including the Housewives' Association, are planning 
to propose a referendum on the importation of American beef and beef 
products that may by a one-in-a-billion chance cause bovine 
spongiform encephalopathy or mad cow disease. ...  We wish we could 
wish them success.  But we are afraid they won't get the endorsement 
of enough voters to make the commission call the nation's fifth 
referendum, even if the initial requirement of one tenth of the 
signatures may be fulfilled.  They must be reminded that none of the 
four previous referendums were validated for lack of achieving the 
necessary quorum of half of the electorate. 
 
"One thing we can't understand is why organizers of the American 
beef boycott campaign should try to beat a dead horse.  As was 
pointed out yesterday in a commentary article in Monday's edition of 
this newspaper, the beef war between Taiwan and the United States is 
over.  The agreement won't be renegotiated, while people are free to 
boycott risky ground and bone-in beef as well as offal.  The 
Department of Health has promised to ban them if there arises a 
legitimate fear that the imports may spread any disease.  As a 
matter of fact, even without any boycott, the people of Taiwan, save 
a few steak lovers, will venture to try American beef and beef 
products they may consider unsafe for consumption. ..." 
 
H) "Accountability Is Issue in Taiwan-U.S. Beef Flap" 
 
The pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" [circulation: 
20,000] editorialized (11/4): 
 
"Yesterday's consensus among all parties in the Legislative Yuan to 
rapidly approve a legal ban on the importation of beef products with 
especially high risk of contamination of "mad cow disease" sent an 
important message to President Ma Ying-jeou's Chinese Nationalist 
Party (Kuomintang) government and decision-makers in Washington and 
Beijing that voices of the Taiwan people cannot be ignored. ...  The 
promulgation of the market opening Monday evening together with the 
announcement of Cabinet plans to adopt various technical measures, 
such as demanding the defrosting of ground beef for inspection or 
denying import permits, to technically obstruct the full opening of 
the Taiwan market to U.S. beef was greeted with considerable 
scepticism.  Such scepticism is fully justified since it would be 
difficult for the KMT government to explain to Washington why it was 
obstructing a newly signed market - opening agreement. ... 
 
"Besides announcing the consensus to approve the proposed revisions 
by Nov. 17, Legislative Yuan President Wang Jin-pyng called on the 
Cabinet to keep the door closed to such imports until the new 
revisions were approved.  The spotlight will now be shifted back to 
the KMT to see whether the ruling party will use its nearly 
three-fourths legislative majority to approve the revisions in the 
face of anticipated pressure from the U.S. on the Taiwan government 
to fully implement the protocol it just signed with Washington. 
 
"Besides welcoming the KMT government's announcement of the protocol 
to 'fully open its market to American beef and beef products' 
Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Trade 
Representative Office issued a veiled warning to the Taiwan 
 
government not to subvert the protocol by stating that Washington is 
'currently reviewing' the Cabinet's 'additional domestic measures' 
in order 'to ensure they allow Taiwan consumers the opportunity to 
enjoy the same safe American beef and beef products that American 
families eat.'  The problem is that many Taiwan consumers do not 
dare to 'enjoy' such products because they lack confidence that they 
are indeed 'safe,' concerns which received a timely boost by news 
reports of two deaths in the U.S. linked to the consumption of fresh 
ground beef believed to be contaminated by E. coli bacteria.  The 
exposure of the vulnerability of the KMT government to popular anger 
could not have come at a better time since the Ma government is now 
preparing to begin talks with the People's Republic of China on an 
'economic cooperation framework agreement' which poses a far greater 
threat to the livelihood and security of the Taiwan people." 
 
STANTON