MEDIA REACTION: CROSS-STRAIT TALKS ON TAIWAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 003152

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/RSP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD -
ROBERT PALLADINO
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: CROSS-STRAIT TALKS ON TAIWAN
FRUIT


1. Summary: In addition to covering local politics,
almost all the major Chinese-language Taipei dailies
reported July 26 on President Chen Shui-bian's remarks
Monday that China's opening to the sale of Taiwan fruit
is a "United Front" scheme that is aimed at helping the
Pan-Blue alliance win the 2008 Taiwan presidential
election. The pro-independence "Liberty Times,"
Taiwan's biggest daily, ran a banner headline on its
front page that read: "Bian criticizes China for
befriending [Taiwan] farmers and protecting the Pan-
Blue Camp in order to run its United Front tactics."
The pro-independence "Taiwan Daily" reported on its
front page: "Bian: China is helping the Pan-Blue
alliance to win the presidential election." The sub-
headline added: "[China] deliberately bypassed and
belittled our government and announced the import of
Taiwan's agricultural products. [China's] favoring and
helping Lien Chan and James Soong was one hundred
percent politically motivated." The centrist "China
Times" and pro-unification "United Daily News" also
carried similar news stories, but they appeared in
their inside pages.


2. Several newspapers, especially the pro-independence
ones, editorialized on the cross-Strait talks on
selling Taiwan fruit to China. Editorials of the pro-
independence "Liberty Times," "Taiwan Daily," and the
limited-circulation, pro-independence, English-language
"Taipei Times" all echoed President Chen's remarks by
calling China's move a "United Front" tactic aimed at
helping the Pan-Blue Camp win Taiwan's future
presidential election. An editorial in the limited-
circulation, conservative, pro-unification, English-
language "China Post," however, said the Chen
administration's obstructionist policy toward closer
cross-Strait ties is frustrating not only opposition
parties but the administration's core supporters. End
summary.

A) "[Taiwan Officials] Must Do More and Work Harder for
Taiwan"

The pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation:
800,000] editorialized (7/26):

". China produces a variety of fruit, which is much
cheaper than Taiwan's fruit, so the idea of selling
Taiwan fruit to China is clearly [part of] Beijing's
`United Front' tactics. Both [Chinese President] Hu
Jintao and [Chinese Premier] Wen Jiabao can hardly take
good care of the 900 million farmers in China, how much
time will they have to benefit Taiwan farmers? In a
nutshell, all Beijing wants is just to cultivate some
interested partners in central and southern Taiwan in
an attempt to help the campaigning of the pro-China
political forces there and to thoroughly carry out its
scheme of `restraining Taiwan via the Taiwan people.
.'"

B) "China's Move to Provide Incentives to Importing
Taiwan Agricultural Products Is in Reality a Secret
Attempt to Help the Pan-Blue Camp to Win Taiwan's
Future Presidential Elections"

The pro-independence "Taiwan Daily" [circulation:
150,000] commented in an editorial (7/26):

". The Beijing government, in the wake of KMT Chairman
Lien Chan's and PFP Chairman James Soong's visits to
China, has placed special emphasis on encouraging the
sale of Taiwan's agricultural products to China and
persuading southern Taiwan farmers to visit the
agricultural cooperation experimental zones in China. .
These moves exactly prove that the Chinese authorities
in Beijing and the Pan-Blue politicians in Taiwan share
common interests with regard to the issue of selling
Taiwan fruit to China. They also explain the reason
why President Chen said in public that China's move to
befriend southern Taiwan farms is an attempt to help
the Pan-Blue Camp to win future Taiwan presidential
elections.

"This newspaper agrees with Chen's viewpoint. Only by
deepening the mainstream values of `Taiwan first' and
strengthening the Taiwan-centered identity can the
island avoid confusion over its national identity and
pull together the Taiwan people's collective will power
to further resist China's united-front attacks."

C) "Sweet Fruit, Rotten Tactics"

The pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times"
[circulation: 30,000] noted in an editorial (7/26):

". Since Taiwan does not place any restrictions on the
export of agricultural products to China, the main
focus of negotiations was to be the inspection and
quarantine of Taiwan's farm products. But these
actually fall under the scope of the government.

"Originally, the issue was a matter of reciprocity that
could be resolved through negotiations by the two
governments. But China has set a technical threshold
and appointed its own negotiating partner. What kind
of negotiation is that? China should not avoid
officially-authorized Taiwanese representatives if it
really wants to push for tax-free import of Taiwan's
fruit.

"Since Taiwan will not send any representatives to the
proposed talks in China, the duty-free import of
Taiwan's fruit into China will be impossible over the
short term. China may blame this on the government
here, in keeping with the script written by Beijing and
the KMT that aims to destroy the Democratic Progressive
Party's (DPP) rule. The DPP surely is aware of this
trick. The party should clearly explain this to the
nation's farmers to let them understand the truth, so
as to reduce the effectiveness of the united-front
tactics being employed by China and the blue camp."

D) "Fruits Shaking DPP Base"

The conservative, pro-unification, English-language
"China Post" [circulation: 30,000] wrote in an
editorial (7/26):

". By offering privileges to Taiwan's fruits while at
the same time refusing to deal with the DPP government,
Beijing is obviously trying to drive a wedge between
the government and the farmers, who are the traditional
electoral support base for the pro-independence ruling
party.

"For the farmers, their foremost concern is to swiftly
cash in on their labor and investment. The government
can subsidize, buy their harvest, or provide timely
assistance, but not intervene in marketing. The Chen
administration's obstructionist policy toward closer
mainland ties from direct transport links to fruit
exports, is frustrating not the opposition but its core
supporters."

PAAL