American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director William Stanton yesterday described the ongoing controversy over imports of US beef with ractopamine residues as a “hostage to domestic political battle” in the legislature as he warned Taiwanese politicians about possible repercussions for US-Taiwan relations and Taiwan’s bid to join in regional economic integration.
In a speech delivered at a lunch hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei, Stanton highlighted the importance of Taiwan’s policy on residue in beef of the leanness-enhancing drug ractopamine to US-Taiwan relations.
President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration proposed conditionally relaxing the ban after his re-election in the hopes that it would facilitate resumption of talks between the US and Taiwan under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), but the legislature recently ended its session without passing the law because of an opposition boycott.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
“[US] beef has now become a hostage to the domestic political battle in the Legislative Yuan, with opponents of US beef showing little regard apparently for the consequences for Taiwan’s relationship with the US, and more broadly, with the rest of the trading world,” Stanton said.
Stanton cast doubt on the intentions of the opposition and other critics of imports of US beef containing ractopamine residues over “fears” that such imports would lead to imports of US pork containing ractopamine residues, and for “political gains” under the pretext of a concern for food safety.
“I think some of the politicians here sometimes forget that we also have politicians in the US, and they very much read the Taiwan media. What you said about poisonous US beef is not well received there by people traditionally best friends of Taiwan,” he said.
In his 35-minute speech on US-Taiwan relations as he reviewed the AIT’s achievements during his tenure as director, Stanton spent nearly one-third of his time on trade issues.
Overall, the trade record between the US and Taiwan was “not bad,” but there are challenges Taiwan must overcome to continue to make progress, he said.
Stanton said he is “especially mindful” of Taiwan’s wish to have a free-trade agreement (FTA) with the US and to become a member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but to demonstrate both its commitment and its ability to achieve these ambitious and commendable goals, “Taiwan must undertake very serious reform efforts.”
US beef is the issue that has become “the symbolic embodiment of Taiwan’s protected markets,” Stanton said, adding that many local industries in Taiwan now “enjoy a high level of protection from foreign competition.”
Taiwan took gradual steps to liberalize trade as part of its accession to the WTO 10 years ago, but the problem is “it has done nothing lately” in this regard, Stanton said.
Stanton, who is set to retire at the end of next month, said that resolving the US issue was like going through a tunnel.
“There may, however, be light at the end of the tunnel. What for me has been a very long and dark tunnel,” he said.
On defense issues, Stanton said Taiwan’s defense budget is “deficient” and he was not optimistic that Taiwan has the ability to confidently manage cross-strait relations and to contribute to regional stability with its limited defense budget.
The US government applauded Ma’s rapprochement policies for maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, but “we firmly believe it’s equally important for Taiwan to strengthen ties with our traditional friends and new friends as well,” Stanton said.
Stanton added that he is “extremely confident” that Taiwan will soon enter the US Visa Waiver Program after it was nominated as a candidate for the program in December.
Stanton said that in a Taipei Times report on March 29, 2009 — before he took over as AIT director — he was described as being “excessively pro-China,” while the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) previously had a report saying he was deemed by Beijing officials in Washington as “pro-Taiwan.”
“It is true [that I am pro-Taiwan]. When I walk down the hall in the US State Department, colleagues often run in the opposite direction, because they feel that I would bang their ears about Taiwan. I have been outspoken and aggressively pursuing what I think is good for US-Taiwan relations and for the US,” he said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS