Monday, January 04, 2010

No instant solutions to U.S. beef controversy: scholars

Taipei, Jan. 4 (CNA) There will be no instant solutions to the controversy over Taiwan's efforts to restore a partial ban on U.S. beef, and both Taiwan and the U.S. will have to "cool down" to work things out, scholars said Monday.

"Both sides should cool down a little bit, " said Alexander Huang, a professor at Tamkang University familiar with Taiwan-U.S. affairs, while commenting on the Legislative Yuan's plan to pass an amendment to the Food Sanitation Act that would bar certain U.S. beef products and would abrogate an import protocol signed by Taiwan and the U.S. in late Octoberr.

Ruling and opposition legislators reached consensus Dec. 29 to amend the act to ban the import of beef products considered at risk of spreading bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) , or mad cow disease.

The move sparked a series of reactions from the U.S., including a joint statement by the U.S. Trade Representatives and the Department of Agriculture (DOA) last Dec. 29 and speculation that the U.S. might retaliate against Taiwan's "unilateral abrogation" of the protocol.

Continuous communication on the matter will be needed from Taiwan's representative to the U.S., Huang said, adding that Taiwan should explain clearly that the amendment targets only ground beef and bovine offal, which account for only 2 percent of all U.S. beef products exported to Taiwan.

The case will not be closed after a Jan. 5 legislative vote on the amendment as it will make its political impact felt across Taiwan politics, said Hsu Yung-ming, a professor of politics at Soochow University.

The burden will fall on President Ma Ying-jeou's shoulders, Hsu said, as Ma is being "sandwiched" between the legislature and the United States.

"The key man will be President Ma. He does not want to abrogate the protocol, and he wouldn't request for reopening the negotiation. It seems to me that the case is going nowhere. There is no quick solution in sight, " Hsu said.

One thing the government could probably do but has not is to send opposition rather than government officials to the U.S." to explain the situation, Huang noted, adding that the U.S. could also try to do a better job convincing Taiwanese customers of the safety of the products.

Meanwhile, the U.S. should think twice if it is considering retaliatory measures against Taiwan, Hsu said, because the U.S. does not want to arouse anti-U.S. sentiment in Taiwan.

"The last thing the U.S. wants to see is Taiwan becoming `the next Japan, ' which would mean Taiwan is no longer one of America's closest allies in the international community, " according to Hsu.

Huang said it is difficult to find fault with the U.S. in the controversy, because "it is obvious that Taiwan's administration mishandled the issue." "The people of Taiwan are not anti-America and Taiwan has no intention of going against the U.S. On top of that, Taiwan-U.S. relations are multi-faceted, including trade, military cooperation, security and culture, so I do not think there will be any U.S. retaliation, " he said.

"I do not think the U.S. will deal Ma a hard blow because Beijing would be very happy to see that, " he said, adding that the interests of the U.S. Department of Defense and the DOA are not the same, so that the beef issue will not interfere with U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.