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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.

Richard Fontaine, foreign policy adviser to former U.S. presidential candidate John McCain, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that even though an historical thaw of cross-strait tension is welcomed by the U.S., it “should work to ensure that ... economic arrangements [between China, the U.S. and Taiwan] do not become zero-sum in nature.”

On one hand, Fontaine suggested, Taiwan need not put all its eggs in one basket and should try to seek business in the U.S. as well as the 10 ASEAN nations. On the other hand, Washington should expand trade relations with Taipei so as not to permit “Beijing to unduly constrain Taipei's political choices, nor upset the delicate U.S.-China relationship.” Fontaine called for the U.S. to see trade as an “essential tool” of Asia-Pacific diplomacy, even as China is using its economic clout to increase its influence over Taiwan.

In this light, Taiwan is not only a developed nation with 23 million people and the biggest contract chip-maker in the world, it is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle in U.S. foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific.

The U.S. is obviously not seeing this side of the argument. By citing the number of 1,034 deaths in motorcycle accidents in Taiwan last year, Stanton did not simply make an analogy. He also implied that mad cow disease does not concern Taiwan — not because U.S. beef products are safe, but because the island is not statistically significant enough to raise a mad cow worry.

But the Taiwanese people are worrying. A local university student consumed cow dung Thursday in protest of the re-opening of U.S. beef imports. Washington should do something to reassure the Taiwanese people and show its concern to the island as a strategic partner before it is too late. For now, public anger is directed mainly at the Ma administration. Before long it will turn to the other party in the beef talks.

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November 1, 2009 johnjohn94121@

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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