Source:  Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 10/26/09

Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin said Monday the central government of Taiwan should reconsider its decision last week to expand access to U.S. beef imports, including bone-in products and variety meats that present a risk of carrying bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

The concerns of the mayor, a member of the ruling party in Taiwan's parliament, were shared by opposition lawmakers and a consumers group that threatened to boycott all U.S. products, according to local media reports.

"The United States wants to dump garbage in Taiwan and forces us to eat U.S. garbage," Wu Chia-cheng, secretary general of the Taiwan Consumers Group, was quoted as saying at a recent press conference.

Critics of Taiwan's decision charge that the government is capitulating to Washington in order to re-open bilateral trade talks. Taiwan Vice Premier Eric Lilun Chu was quoted as saying the decision had nothing to do with resuming trade talks with the United States.

"Taiwan needs to step forward for the sake of its overall trade," Chu said.

However, Chinese newspaper United Daily News cited unnamed officials in reporting that, "allowing import of beef on the bone from the United States has paved the way for a resumption of the talks." The paper also reported that Taiwan and the United States could resume talks by year's end, and no later than March or April of 2010.