The failure of ‘scientific’ evidence in Taiwan: a case study of international image repair for American beef

Abstract

This study extends the theory of image repair in a cross-cultural setting by examining an international controversy in the beef trade. Taiwan’s restrictions on American beef imports in 2010 (based on fears of ‘mad cow’ disease) caused trade tensions between the US and Taiwan and prolonged the ongoing controversy over American beef exports to East Asian countries, one of America’s top beef export markets. To repair the image of these products in Taiwan, the US government utilized the image repair strategies of denial, bolstering, minimization, and attacking the accusers. Although the US position was supported by scientific data, the rhetoric was generally not effective in Taiwan. A major obstacle was the contradiction between social experiences and scientific evidence. Since face-saving is extremely important in Chinese culture, the use of threatening messages by US officials caused more harm than good. This study suggests that experience-based reasoning and face-saving are important factors in image repair efforts in the East Asian context.