VZCZCXYZ1693
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #1513/01 3550748
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 210748Z DEC 09
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2987
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 9581
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0968

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001513 
 
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 
 
Summary:  Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused December 
19-21 news coverage on preparations for the upcoming fourth round of 
cross-Strait negotiations; the demonstration organized by the DPP to 
protest cross-Strait negotiations and the Ma Ying-jeou 
administration's China-leaning policy; and an earthquake registering 
6.8 on the Richter scale on Saturday night.  In terms of editorials 
and commentaries, an op-ed in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" 
responded to a December 18 open letter by American Institute in 
Taiwan (AIT) Director William Stanton on the safety of U.S. beef. 
The op-ed, written by a PhD student who once publicly ate cattle 
dung at a media event to express his opposition to the Ma 
administration's decision to fully open Taiwan's market to U.S. 
beef, praised Stanton's sincerity in communicating with the people 
of Taiwan.  However, the op-ed still expressed serious concerns 
about the safety of U.S. beef and its impact on the health of human 
beings.  End summary. 
 
"The Things that Director William Stanton Did Not Mention" 
 
Chu Cheng-chi, who is a PhD student at the Graduate Institute of 
Sociology at the National Taiwan University and consumed cattle 
dung, opined in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" [520,000] 
(12/21): 
 
"American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director William Stanton sent a 
letter to media, trying to reassure the people of Taiwan's concerns 
on U.S. beef.  This move is praiseworthy and I believe that many 
citizens of Taiwan could sense the great thought he has devoted to 
the matter.  At least, Director Stanton is more "progressive" than 
Minister of Health Yaung Chih-liang.  He [Director Stanton] is 
willing to apologize publicly for his own out of tune remarks of 
'scooters' [relating the risk rates of riding scooters in Taiwan and 
eating U.S. beef] and willing to use scientific evidence as a basis 
to provide public explanations.  Looking back at Minister Yaung, who 
uses populist approaches, such as committing hari-kari, asking the 
citizens [of Taiwan] to eat beef from cattle under the age of thirty 
months old and should not be picky [about the government's decision 
on U.S. beef], eating U.S. beef is safer than crossing roads, and 
constantly lying that 'not eating [U.S. beef] would be all right, 
and hypocritically saying that he wanted to apologize to people who 
love U.S. bone-in-beef, offal and ground beef. 
 
"Since Director Stanton has the sincerity to communicate with the 
people of Taiwan, I feel necessary to provide some additional 
explanation for him to let the citizens have a full understanding, 
based on the 'solid scientific basis,' about U.S. beef, 'to help you 
make informed, confident decisions about the food you eat,' which is 
a point on which I hold the same belief as Director Stanton. 
Director Stanton said, 'there has never been a single proven case of 
the human version of so-called 'Mad Cow' Disease caused by eating 
American beef.'  First of all, 'human beings' certainly do not 
contract the mad 'cow' disease (BSE).  Rather, it is the new variant 
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) that occurred on cattle being 
called mad cow disease.  Of course there is no so-called 'mad cow 
disease' on human beings.  It is like 'the foot-and-mouth disease' 
does not occur on human beings.  Only 'hand, foot and mouth disease' 
does.  We believed that it was only Director Stanton's lapse of the 
pen, unlike Minister Yaung, who once resorted to a sophistry that 
'the United States was never an infected zone of the mad cow 
disease' by saying that 'no human beings in the United States have 
contracted mad cow disease.'  Another point of Director Stanton's 
remark in this paragraph was that, there has never been a single 
'proven case' of the new vCJD by 'eating' U.S. beef.' 
Scientifically, it is indeed unable to prove one hundred percent 
that eating beef from cattle infected with mad cow disease would 
result in new vCJD.  Similarly, science is still unable to prove 
that eating genetic modified food would cause harm to the human 
beings.  However, why do many countries still hold a reserved 
attitude toward genetic modified food? ... 
 
"Director Stanton also had one vague statement, which is, the 'World 
Organization for Animal Health (OIE) supports the safety of U.S. 
beef and beef products.'  Precisely speaking, the OIE's 
differentiation on mad cow disease is not by 'the infected zone' or 
'the disease-free zone.'  Rather, it is by 'undetermined BSE risk 
zone', 'controlled BSE risk zone,' and 'negligible BSE risk zone.' 
The United States belongs to the 'controlled BSE risk zone.'  As a 
result, U.S. beef, under certain slaughtering procedures, is allowed 
to be traded.  Nevertheless, the United States has the loosest 
regulations regarding beef products [of any other countries] in the 
category of the 'controlled BSE risk zone,' far less than that of 
Japan or Canada.  It is still fresh in one's memory that two people 
died from eating e-coli contaminated ground beef burgers.  It is an 
overly vague and exaggerating statement that 'the OIE supports the 
safety of U.S. beef and beef products.'  [I] hope that the citizens 
in Taiwan, rather than just reading information on the website of 
AIT, which represents the country exporting U.S. beef, should refer 
to information from multiple sources to safeguard the health of 
their own and the next generation." 
 
STANTON