Executive Yuan officials made a promise to ruling Kuomintang lawmakers that the Legislature would receive the text within a month, reports said.

The signing of the protocol on Oct. 23 touched off a wave of protests, with calls for a renegotiation of the agreement to exclude beef parts likely to cause bovine spongiform encephalopathy or mad cow disease. Local governments announced they would rally restaurants and shops against the sale of the beef from Nov. 10.

President Ma and other government officials have said that a renegotiation is out of the question because it would damage Taiwan's international reputation. They say the deal was at least as stringent as similar agreements the U.S. closed with South Korea and EU.

Lawmakers from the opposition Democratic Progressive Party occupied the dais at the Legislative Yuan yesterday, calling for a renegotiation of the deal with Washington.

President Ma should adapt his position to public opinion and reopen talks, DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen told reporters during a campaign trip to Taoyuan County yesterday.

Foreign Minister Timothy Yang denied yesterday that the government had given in to U.S. demands in order to achieve visa-free access to the country for Taiwanese tourists. Earlier, officials also rejected accusations that the beef decision had been made to obtain a new start for talks about a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement.

Meanwhile, American Institute in Taiwan Director William Stanton was backtracking on an earlier comparison he made. He had said the risk of dying from mad cow disease by eating U.S. beef was less than from riding a motorcycle in Taiwan traffic.