Taiwan braces for protests over U.S. beef
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Anti-U.S. beef protesters at a demonstration in Taipei Nov. 3 (CNA)
Following an agreement reached between the U.S. and Taiwan, beef exports to Taiwan are to resume this month after a six-year ban. Some politicians and civic groups, concerned about BSE and E. coli infected beef as well as perceived pressure from the U.S., have been highly critical of the agreement.
Under the Oct. 23 agreement between Taipei and Washington, D.C., Taiwan has again opened its markets to “in-bone” beef and beef products from the United States.
Taiwan had banned U.S. beef imports in 2003 following the discovery of a U.S. case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), popularly known as mad cow disease which manifests as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. In 2005 Taiwan lifted the ban on U.S. de-boned beef but reinstituted the ban two months later when the second BSE case was reported in the United States.
Under U.S. pressure to accept the beef, in 2006 the Taiwan government resumed imports of de-boned U.S. beef from young cattle. Cattle under 30 months old are believed to carry less risk of having BSE.
Syd Goldsmith, a retired U.S. diplomat in Taipei who closely follows the the export issue, told Reuters that the latest agreement also calls for allowing imports of in-bone and de-boned meat from older cattle later on if meat from younger cattle remains safe.
While some people in Taiwan adamantly oppose the official agreements for health reasons, still others resent their government succumbing to what they perceive as U.S. strong-arm tactics and Taiwan’s willingness to ignore public sentiment in order normalize trade relations with the U.S. which have been stalled since 2007.
Chen Yi-shen, chairman of the Taiwan Association of University Professors, has called for a public demonstration this coming Saturday to encourage the government to renegotiate the import agreement. Chen told the Taiwan Times that the rally planned for this coming Saturday is a protest not only against the lifting of the ban, but also the government making decisions behind closed doors. “We want to make it clear that this is not an anti-U.S. demonstration,” Chen said.
Wu Chia-cheng, secretary general of the watchdog group Taiwan Consumers Foundation, said at a news conference last week that the deal allows the U.S. to force “garbage” on Taiwan.
Wu also serves on a cabinet-level consumer protection committee. The consumers group has used its influence to address bus safety, blast Dell computers for allegedly deceptive bait-and-switch advertisements and numerous public health issues. It has called for a boycott of U.S. beef and is threatening to call for a boycott of all U.S. products unless the government renegotiates the beef agreement. Wu said the Consumers Foundation might appeal to Consumers International to help apply pressure on Washington and Taipei to reverse the decision, according to a news item on the Taiwan Ministry of Interior web site.
In addition, lawmakers from two political parties are working on amendments to Taiwan’s Food Hygiene Control Act to keep the bone-in beef products out.
Taiwan's health department hoped to defuse the backlash to the lifting of the ban. It said bone-in beef imports must be inspected and certified first by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In addition, Taiwan's government agencies will perform inspection of imported beef products depending on the possible risks.
Last summer South Koreans held massive protests in an unsuccessful effort to prevent U.S. beef imports.
Corrected text: Syd Goldsmith was originally identified as "represesenting U.S. export interests" in Taiwan. He does not, but follows the export issue closely and is considered an expert source.
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A couple of cases in a country as big as the USA? That to me does not signify that the USA is now forcing "Garbage" on Taiwan.
Moreover, if that low level of infection were appled as a criteria for stopping the export of everything, world trade would grind to a halt tomorrow, including the trade of many South Korean products.
I can certainly accept that the USA has pressured Taiwan, but I won't accept that most of the "anti" protest is anything more than primary-anti-Americanism hypocritically dressed up as a consumer cause.
And if the USA applied such stringent controls on SK products, South Koreans would be laughing on the other side of their faces.
That kind of 'Fire in a Cinema' protesting gives protesting a bad name, unfortunately.
The well-publicized issues the U.S. has had with tainted meat and drug inspections (remember the heparin deaths?)are also a factor.
A referendum? They're worse than the French lol! The French ask for a referendum on any legislation they don't agree with. It's as if they forgot what they elect govenments for - ie. to do their jobs and legislate.
To be fair to the USA there have been many less tainted meat issues there than in England and France.
There were thousands of infected cattle and what are rumoured to be a couple of hundred deaths from BSE, and that's just up to now!
And all that in two countries whose combined populations make up less than half that of the USA, and which produce much less beef per capita than the USA.
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