Does anyone else see the irony in Taiwan appealing to the US and the WTO for lower tariffs on rice wine because it is used in cooking, and the fact that all the deaths from counterfeit wine are because people are drinking the stuff? In the newspaper a couple of days ago (Taipei Times, I believe), there was an article saying that rice wine was very popular amongst the aboriginal population because of its special taste, and the fact that its the cheapest alcohol they can find. What a happy coincidence for those oenophiles! Who says that you can’t get great taste out of a screwtop bottle. Me, I prefer [color=blue]Aqua Velva[/color]. Or vanilla extract. Good for cooking and cocktails! 
Hoot! 
But surely it’s only a small percentage of people who are drinking the stuff? As far as I can see, since joining the WTO, the only price changes have been increases in locally made products. Aren’t imported wines and spirits supposed to have dropped in price? Perhaps they have but the retailers aren’t passing on the costs to us thirsty expats. 
Now, envision a day when Cambodia joins the WTO, and the Cambodian’s response when they are told their cannabis cooking ingedient isn’t just going up in price but is banned too!
Depends which rice wine you’re talking about. Plenty of people drink the Chen Nian rice wine, and even the bog standard stuff. In the words of Keith Floyd: “If it’s not good enough to drink, it’s not good enough to cook with”