Lee Teng-hui’s Yuanxing Wagyu cattle project continues after his death

One of the passion projects of former President Lee Teng-hui, who passed away on Thursday, was developing a herd of high-end Taiwanese Wagyu cattle. Though Lee is no longer with the animals, a farm in Hualien is continuing his work. So far, the farm has raised 19 heads of Lee''s Yuanxing breed. The farm says it''ll continue working to see the late president''s dream fulfilled.

Children hold up bottle feeders for the young calves to drink from. They are part of a 300-head dairy cow herd. The herd was raised to fund a project of Lee''s to develop a Taiwanese cattle breed: the Yuanxing.

Chou Song-chih
Harvest Ranch
We''ve worked together with the Yuanxing House. Currently, what we''ve been doing is raising these dairy cows with them.

Lee Teng-hui (Aug. 6, 2016)
Former president
How do you breed cattle breeds? How long does it take? How do you raise them? How do you mix their feed?

Back in 2016 , Lee visited Japan''s Okinawa prefecture. There, he listened attentively to a report by the Ishigaki farmers'' association on local cattle and asked a multitude of questions before digging into an Ishigaki beef steak. Lee had wanted to put his PhD in agriculture economics to practice and develop Taiwan''s own breed of high-end Wagyu beef.

Voice of Wang Yen-chun
Lee Teng-hui Foundation
This is the bull. He''s the biggest one.

Lee visited the scenic farm in Hualien every year to check up on the calves. The cattle were brought there from the Qingtiangang grassland in Yangmingshan. They share ancestors with Japanese Wagyu, both originating from Tajima Cattle. Lee named the Taiwanese breed after his hometown, Yuanxing. So far, 19 heads of the new breed have been raised.

Lee Teng-hui (March 9, 2018)
Former president
It''s their ancestors. They are the ancestors of Japanese Wagyu.

Lee took research on the cattle''s genes very seriously. He even wrote an article on the genetic relationship between Taiwan''s Wagyu breed and the Japanese black breed. The article was published in the journal of the Japanese Society of Animal Science, an authority in the field.

Lee, gave his everything for his cattle in an attempt to boost Taiwan''s beef industry. His uniquely Taiwanese cows are just one of the manifestations of his passion for animal husbandry.