Beef dispute will not affect other aspects of U.S. ties

Jason Yuan (second right) at a flag-raising ceremony in Washington. (CNA)

Washington will deal with Taiwanese lawmakers' attempts to block imports of U.S. ground beef and offal sensitively, rather than confusing it with Taiwan's requests for arms sales or for its president to make transit stops in the U.S., Taiwan's representative to Washington, Jason Yuan said on Friday.

On the sidelines of a Republic of China-flag raising ceremony, Yuan said the beef issue is handled by the Department of Agriculture while the other two issues fall within the purview of the Department of Defence, Department of State, or even the White House respectively.

"They won't mingle these issues together." Yuan said in response to journalists' questions on whether the plan by Taiwan's legislature could trigger reprisals from Washington in dealing with Taiwan's requests.

Taipei agreed to allow the imports of U.S. bone-in beef, on Oct. 22. However lawmakers who were concerned about the safety of the U.S.

beef are set to alter the law to exclude U.S. ground beef and offal, despite the country's agreement with Washington.

Yuan dodged journalists' questions on whether the issue will influence other aspects of bilateral ties, saying that friendship is a feeling toward each other, but no matter how close friends Taiwan and the United States are, "disputes could not be avoided all together." Just as many U.S. congressmen who come from agricultural states should speak for their constituents, Taiwanese lawmakers must defend their constituents' interest.

"How could there be no disputes between them?" Yuan said. The beef issue in Taiwan is a natural one for a democracy, Yuan said, adding that the governments of the U.S. and Taiwan should deal with it reasonably.

As Taiwan's representative in Washington, Yuan said his job is to convey Taiwan's points of view thoroughly to Washington.

Meanwhile, Richard Bush, director of the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies at the Washington-based Brookings Institute told CNA that he was puzzled at how this issue has developed.

Bush, who had served as the American Institute in Taiwan's chairman in Washington, and had been billed as one of the candidates to be the chief of the AIT Taipei Office, guessed that the ruling Kuomintang's (KMT's) lawmakers were concerned that the issue of American beef is one that the Democratic Progressive Party can exploit to make headway, particularly among independent voters.

"The politically-safe strategy, therefore, is to go along, even if there is no scientific basis for the fears and even though there are many different ways to protect the food supply," Bush said.

Also, Bush said, he suspected that some members of the KMT caucus were trying to make a point regarding the balance of power between the Legislative Yuan on the one hand and the Office of President and the Executive Yuan on the other.