TAIWAN SEES RED OVER WTO BLUE BOOK

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 002929

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/RSP/TC AND EB/TPP/MTA, STATE PASS AIT/W AND
USTR, USTR FOR FREEMAN, WINELAND AND WINTERS, GENEVA FOR
USTR SHARK

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/30/2015
TAGS: ECON ETRD TW
SUBJECT: TAIWAN SEES RED OVER WTO BLUE BOOK

REF: TAIPEI 2526

Classified By: AIT Director Douglas Paal, Reason 1.4 b/d


1. (C) Summary: Taiwan officials publicly claimed to be
surprised by World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretary
General Supachai's decision to release the long delayed "Blue
Book" directory of WTO Permanent Representatives without
listing diplomatic titles of Chinese Taipei staff. However,
MOFA privately told AIT they were expecting this decision and
have been considering for several months how to respond.
Taiwan has demanded that the WTO reissue the Blue Book with
diplomatic titles included. Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign
Affairs (MOFA) condemned the WTO decision and accused China
of pressuring the WTO SecGen to downgrade Taiwan's status in
the organization. MOFA acknowledged that Taipei has greater
concerns in the WTO than the blue book titles. MOFA says its
very public response is designed to head off domestic
criticism that the administration is not doing enough to
protect Taiwan sovereignty. End Summary.

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Blue Book Publication Actually Not a Surprise
=============================================


2. (C) Contrary to press reports and statements from MOFA,
the release of the WTO Directory (aka "the Blue Book"),
reported in Taiwan on June 28, after being delayed for more
than two years did not take Taipei by surprise. The
directory had traditionally been updated biannually, but
since 2003, when China requested that the Secretariat alter
Chinese Taipei's official designation to match that of Hong
Kong and Macao, no new blue book has been issued. The WTO
Secretariat reportedly contacted Taiwan's mission in Geneva

SIPDIS
early in 2005 and insisted that the blue book be published
before Secretary General Supachai steps down. MOFA and the
NSC allegedly agreed to a compromise that would eliminate
diplomatic titles but continue to refer to Chinese Taipei's
Geneva WTO office as the Permanent Mission of the Separate
Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.
However, China's passage of the anti-secession law led the
NSC and MOFA to back away from the tentatively agreed
compromise. Secretary General Supachai, after much
consultation with both sides, reportedly made the decision to
publish in order to resolve the matter before his imminent
departure. According to MOFA's Department of Economics and
Trade, the book is not an official document and has no
official standing, meaning that Chinese Taipei's WTO staff
will continue to enjoy diplomatic privileges, despite their
lack of diplomatic titles in the blue book.

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MOFA Shouts for Domestic Audience...
====================================


3. (C) MOFA's strident statements condemning the issuance of
the blue book are primarily for domestic political
consumption and do not fully reflect Taiwan's position.
Oliver Hsiao, newly returned from Geneva and now in MOFA's
Department of Economics and Trade, WTO office, told AIT that
contrary to press statements that Chinese Taipei had only
been informed the day before, the release of the blue book
had privately been expected for some time. He said MOFA's
biggest concern about the change was how to respond to the
inevitable political accusations that MOFA had failed to
protect Taiwan's sovereignty in the WTO. To counter these,
he suggested, MOFA needed to condemn the decision loudly and
make sure the blame fell squarely on China. (NOTE: China
didn't get all it wanted either, Chinese reps have long
pushed to change Chinese Taipei's designation from a
permanent mission to a trade office. END NOTE.)


4. (SBU) MOFA's expectations of domestic political
grandstanding were on the mark. Taiwan Solidarity Union
(TSU) Representative Lai Hsin-yuan, who has been leading the
criticism of the government's handling of U.S. beef imports,
diverted her attention long enough to excoriate the Chen
administration's handling of the issue as "a disgrace to the
country." People First Party's (PFP) Chen Chih-pin accused
the government of "lacking awareness that China will sooner
or later take action to deal with Taiwan in the WTO" and
insisted that the government publicly account for the blue
book changes.

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But Trying to Build Relations with New SG
=========================================


5. (C) MOFA's Hsiao told AIT that Chinese Taipei's Geneva
office would print "corrections" to the blue book that
include the diplomatic titles of all Chinese Taipei staff
assigned to the WTO Mission and distribute these to other WTO
Missions. He predicted that the Chinese Taipei mission would
do so each time the blue book is revised. However, he
suggested acceptance of the inevitable publication of the
blue book was part of Chinese Taipei's strategy to start off
on the right foot with incoming WTO Secretary General Lamy.
Chinese Taipei has larger concerns in the WTO, including
accession to the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA),
according to Hsiao.


6. (C) Comment: Taiwan's MOFA is playing to the Taiwan
domestic audience, although it says it recognizes the
potential cost to its credibility abroad. This continues a
long-standing practice where MOFA attempts to use each
international meeting to bolster its sovereignty claims and
each snub to attack China for squeezing Taiwan out of the
international space. The publication of the blue book could
potentially allow Taiwan the breathing room needed to make
progress on nomenclature issues that have prevented Taiwan
from living up to its WTO accession commitment to join the
GPA. If Chinese Taipei is able to use this to play a more
productive role in the WTO, it will be a small price to pay.
End comment.
KEEGAN