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Updated Saturday, October 31, 2009 11:00 am TWN, The China Post news staff The bull is pushing Taiwan away from the U.S.With his bizarre comparison between the number of scooter riders killed in Taiwan to mad cow disease statistics, the new U.S. envoy to Taiwan, William Stanton, earned himself the right to be called “cow” in both Taiwanese and Chinese connotations. The Ma Ying-jeou administration has come under great pressure for its lack of coordination in U.S. beef trade talks resulting in the opening of U.S. beef products to Taiwan. To make the matter worse, local government heads from Ma's Kuomintang (KMT), such as Hau Lung-bin, mayor of Taipei City, Chou Hsi-wei of Taipei County and Jason Hu, mayor of Taichung City, are jumping ship. They plan to ban U.S. beef products with higher threats in causing mad cow disease, such as offal, ground beef and spinal cord. Under such circumstances, the director of the American Institute in Taiwan's (AIT) comment, as well as the AIT's decision not to re-open negotiations, certainly did not help Ma's administration other than cementing the U.S.' image as the unthinking bully across the negotiation table. Despite the fact that beef represents only 1 percent of the bilateral trade between the U.S. and Taiwan, the American negotiators have made it a precondition for any trade negotiation. It is seen as a litmus test to whether a country is “friendly” to the U.S. The mass demonstrations in South Korea against its government's decision to re-open U.S. beef imports in 2008, the largest anti-government protests seen in that country in 20 years, had as much to do with anti-Americanism as health concerns. Some political pundits in Taiwan already regard the “rebellion” by Ma's comrades as either a veiled attempt to thumb Taiwan's nose at the U.S. or a tactic to bargain for the reopen of beef talks. Members of the opposition Democratic Progress Party (DPP), who generally would jump gladly at any political blunder or unpopular decision Ma makes, are cautious about attacking the U.S this time. Partly because some from the pro-independence camp worry that an anti-American sentiment in the country would drive Taiwan from the U.S. and toward China. Comments November 1, 2009 johnjohn94121@ Reply It is interesting how local politicians chose what topics they decide to raise hysteria about. Factual Risk: The chances are greater that you would be hit by a motorcycle than get Mad Cow Disease. In a nation of over 300 Million Americans who still consume beef daily, how many deaths have been reported? As far as the student who consumed cow dung, he was just a damn fool, following the behavior or the hysteria created by leaders who wish to switch the citizens’ attention from the many problems they have failed to address, to cows coming from the U.S. November 5, 2009 goedel99@ The comparison of the relative risks of beef consumption and traffic accidents is perfectly legitimate. This comparison is made all the time in Western countries. (Driving motor vehicles is the riskiest activity most people perform, BY FAR). Why do Taiwanese think it is not legitimate? People in Taiwan blithely ignore a real risk every day but hysterically react to a non-risk, and this should be pointed out. Something like 100000 Taiwanese have died in motor vehicle accidents since the SINGLE case of mad cow disease was discovered on an American ranch almost 10 years ago. 0 Americans have contracted CJD over those same 10 years. November 5, 2009 johnny.brian@ It's political issue. DPP had once approved the importation of Beef before, now cook-up a beefy story despite the fact many of Buddhist Taiwanese people who do not eat beef at all because they consider Cow is god. it. Just ask them if they eat beef or not. By their answers, you will see they don't know what is right from wrong. |
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