Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05TAIPEI2114
2005-05-10 10:56:00
CONFIDENTIAL
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Cable title:  

CHEN CAMPAIGN OFFENSIVE DRAWS CRITICISM FROM ALL

Tags:  PREL PGOV PINR CH TW 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 002114 

SIPDIS

STATE PASS AIT/W

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/01/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR CH TW
SUBJECT: CHEN CAMPAIGN OFFENSIVE DRAWS CRITICISM FROM ALL
SIDES

REF: A. TAIPEI 2076


B. TAIPEI 2066

C. TAIPEI 2001

Classified By: AIT Director Douglas Paal, Reason: 1.4 (B/D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 002114

SIPDIS

STATE PASS AIT/W

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/01/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR CH TW
SUBJECT: CHEN CAMPAIGN OFFENSIVE DRAWS CRITICISM FROM ALL
SIDES

REF: A. TAIPEI 2076


B. TAIPEI 2066

C. TAIPEI 2001

Classified By: AIT Director Douglas Paal, Reason: 1.4 (B/D)


1. (C) Summary: President Chen Shui-bian has continued to
lash out at his political opponents in an effort to retake
the agenda in the lead-up to the May 14 National Assembly
(NA) election. On May 9, Chen singled out former President
Lee Teng-hui for criticism, accusing Lee of hypocrisy for
demanding actions by Chen that Lee himself did not pursue as
President. Chen also asserted publicly that People First
Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong had privately promised Chen
the PFP would support the Special Defense Procurement Budget
after the NA election. The revelation came on the heels of
Chen's May 8 accusation that Soong had colluded with Beijing
to derail constitutional reforms that will be voted on by the
NA. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials say
privately that Chen's recent policy shifts have caused DPP
morale to plummet. While some in the DPP warn that Chen's
recent personal attacks on political figures across the
spectrum could undermine prospects for post-election
inter-partisan reconciliation, Pan-Blue officials have been
careful not to publicly close the door to a post-NA election
meeting. Premier Frank Hsieh has tried to limit the damage
by touting a planned speech by the President on May 20 that
will lay out his policy of reconciliation. Despite all the
flak Chen has put in the air, he has not yet signaled a
retreat from the pragmatic course he adopted in early May by
accepting Lien Chan's trip to the PRC. End Summary.

You Can Insult All of the People Some of the Time
-------------- --------------


2. (SBU) President Chen Shui-bian's move to seize the
political agenda in the days leading up to the May 14
National Assembly (NA) election has provoked criticism from
all sides of the ideological spectrum. Taiwan Solidarity
Union (TSU) officials reacted angrily to Chen's May 9 attacks
on former President Lee Teng-hui. Chen accused Lee of
hypocrisy for demanding Chen pursue policies that Lee himself
did not pursue as President. Chen said that former President

Clinton told Chen personally that Clinton would never
criticize President Bush's policies because "the United
States only has one President." Chen said that Lee should
understand that Taiwan also has only one President. In
response, TSU Secretary General Chen Chien-ming lashed out at
Chen, accusing the DPP President of lying to the voting
public over his 2004 campaign promises to pursue greater
"Taiwanization" policies.

With Friends Like This...
--------------


3. (C) Chen also further alienated his erstwhile ally, James
Soong, by asserting that Soong had privately promised the
President that the PFP would support the government's
legislative agenda, including over the Special Defense
Procurement Budget, after the May 14 election. PFP officials
immediately denied the existence of any under-the-table
deals. KMT Spokesman Chang Jung-kung boasted that Chen's
revelations would undermine support for the PFP at the May 14
polls. PFP officials are still fuming over Chen's May 8
accusation that Soong met in January in the United States
with PRC Taiwan Affairs Office Director Chen Yunlin (Ref A).
President Chen said that Chen Yunlin used his purported
meetings with Soong (and USG officials) to urge intervention
to derail plans to revise the constitution (Ref B). (Note:
the Department may wish to prepare contingency press guidance
in case Taiwan reporters ask whether Chen Yunlin raised the
constitutional revision or National Assembly issues during
his January meetings in Washington. End Note.) PFP
officials have demanded Chen apologize for the accusation,
and Soong himself was filmed personally denying any contacts
with Chen Yunlin in the U.S.


4. (C) While Pan-Blue officials have rejected Chen's recent
allegations and publicly accused him of souring the political
atmosphere, PFP and KMT spokesmen have so far stopped short
of ruling out a post-May 14 meeting of political leaders.
DPP Legislative Yuan (LY) Defense Committee Member Shen
Fa-hui told AIT that it is critical for Chen to meet with
Lien and Soong shortly after the May 14 NA election in order
to secure a Pan-Blue commitment to move forward on the
Special Defense Procurement Budget before the LY recesses in
late May. Shen complained that Chen's repeated rhetorical
shifts between reconciliation to condemnation have added an
unneeded variable to the process. Shen added, however, that
the door appears to remain open for a meeting between Chen
and the two Pan-Blue leaders between the May 14 election and
the anticipated May 17 vote on the Special Defense
Procurement Budget in the LY Procedure Committee (Ref C).


5. (C) Chen's recent rhetoric has also provoked sharp
criticism from within the DPP's own ranks. DPP officials
told AIT that party Chairman Su Tseng-chang was furious over
Chen's condescending treatment of party leaders during a
televised May 6 DPP leadership meeting. Officials said that
Chen privately apologized to Su on May 8, and absolved Su of
responsibility should the DPP perform poorly in the May 14
election. While Su kept his frustration to himself, senior
New Tide faction members publicly stated that Chen's recent
sharp rhetoric amounted to a "slap in the face" to New Tide
co-leader and National Security Council (NSC) Secretary
General Chiou I-jen, who has tried to help Chen craft his
centrist policy course. Chiou's Chief of Staff, Lo Ya-mei,
told AIT on May 9 that Chiou has been taken off guard by some
of Chen's recent rhetoric, especially his "revelations" about
various conversations with James Soong.


6. (SBU) While most DPP leaders have kept a low profile in
the wake of Chen's public statements, Premier Frank Hsieh
moved to soften Chen's edge, using a May 9 speech to a
business group to highlight the President's commitment to
easing tensions with Beijing and facilitating greater
cross-Strait economic interaction. Hsieh touted a planned
Presidential address on May 20 that Hsieh said will set a
clear marker for future cross-Strait relations.

Comment: Falling Off the Wagon?
--------------


7. (C) The media and most political observers thus far appear
to be writing off the President's series of ad hominem
attacks on fellow political leaders as typical, if annoying,
Chen Shui-bian campaign behavior. Heated domestic political
rhetoric notwithstanding, it is encouraging that Chen has
continued to advocate a moderate pragmatic approach to
cross-Strait issues in recent days. It is also positive that
all sides, but particularly the KMT, appear to be responding
to Chen's statements in ways that leave room for inter-party
talks and cross-Strait pragmatism after May 14. The major
variable may be James Soong. Chen's decision to smear Soong
as a PRC stooge while revealing details about under-the-table
promises may complicate Soong's ability to explain to his
followers what the PFP stands to gain from an alliance with
the unpredictable Chen Shui-bian.
PAAL