TAIWAN LEGISLATURE RESUMES DICUSSION OF U.S. BEEF

C O N F I D E N T I A L AIT TAIPEI 001447


STATE FOR EAP/TC
STATE PASS USTR FOR STRATFORD AND ALTBACH, TREASURY FOR
OASIA/WINSHIP AND JEWELL, NSC FOR LOI, COMMERCE FOR
4431/ITA/MAC/AP/OPB/TAIWAN,USDA FOR FAS/OSTA BLUM, BEAN,
AND DAWSON; FAS/OCRA RADLER, BURDETT, AND BEILLARD;
FAS/OFSO SALLYARDS; APHIS/IS AND VS; AND FSIS/HARRIES

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2019
TAGS: ECON EAGR ETRD PGOV PREL TW
SUBJECT: TAIWAN LEGISLATURE RESUMES DICUSSION OF U.S. BEEF
AMENDMENT

REF: A. TAIPEI 1373 AND PREVIOUS

B. TAIPEI 1437 (NOTAL)


Classified By: Bill Stanton, AIT Director, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: In response to the party's relatively poor
performance in the December 5 local elections, the KMT has
revived legislative debate over a Food Sanitation Act
amendment that would restrict imports of certain U.S. beef
products. Separately, a consumer NGO took an initial step
toward a possible island-wide referendum on renegotiating the
bilateral beef protocol with the U.S. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) On December 7, National Security Council Secretary
General Su Chi contacted the Director to report that
Legislative Yuan (LY) Speaker Wang Jin-pyng had renewed
efforts to amend the Food Sanitation Act to prevent the
import of U.S. beef offal, ground beef, and other beef
products seen as risky by the Taiwan public (ref a). In
separate December 8 conversations with AIT staff, aides in
the offices of KMT legislators Lu Hsueh-chang and Justin Chou
confirmed that the ruling party had renewed negotiations with
the DPP over amending the Act.


3. (C) Lu's aide explained that the new version of the
amendment would be designed to ban imports of U.S. beef
offal, ground beef, spinal cord, and other "risky" items.
Nathan Gao, a legislative aide to Chou, offered a similar
report. The KMT's relatively poor performance in the
December 5 local elections (ref b),he explained, prompted
the party to revive efforts to amend the Food Sanitation Act
in a way seen as responsive to public concerns about the
safety of U.S. beef. Gao stressed, however, that the KMT was
still in the initial stages of negotiating language with the
DPP, and that no legislative action was imminent.


4. (SBU) Separately, staff at the Taipei-based Consumer
Foundation NGO told us that their organization submitted a
beef protocol petition to the Central Election Commission
(CEC) on the morning of December 8. If approved, the
petition would eventually authorize a national referendum on
whether or not to renegotiate the beef protocol with the U.S.
The Consumer Foundation expected the CEC to complete an
initial review of the petition within approximately ten days.
Provided the CEC approves the initial petition, the
Foundation would then move to the next step in the petition
process and attempt to increase the number of petition
signatures from the current approximately 200,000 to the
required total of 860,000.


5. (C) COMMENT: Although the beef issue did not play a
central role in the December 5 elections, the KMT's
performance was weak enough to resurrect the Food Sanitation
Act amendment. Although the legislative effort may fizzle
once again, reports that the amendment may explicitly
restrict certain U.S. beef imports are a worrying new
development. We will continue to stress our concerns that
any legislation remain consistent with the bilateral beef
protocol, and that Taiwan not codify administrative measures
that would have the effect of overturning the expanded access
to which it has already agreed. END COMMENT.


STANTON