TAIWAN SOLIDARITY UNION CELEBRATES FOURTH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 003290

SIPDIS

STATE PASS AIT/W

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/08/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL TW
SUBJECT: TAIWAN SOLIDARITY UNION CELEBRATES FOURTH
ANNIVERSARY: PRESIDENT CHEN REITERATES "ROC IS TAIWAN" AND
"FOUR STAGES OF ROC," TSU-DPP COOPERATION IN TROUBLE

REF: TAIPEI 3240

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


1. (U) Summary: The fourth anniversary of the fiercely
pro-independence Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) brought
President Chen Shui-bian and his "deep-Green" critic, former
President Lee Teng-hui, on stage together for the first time
in several months. While the two men were outwardly cordial
toward each other, it was clear from Lee's statements that
Pan-Green coalition has unraveled and cooperation has ceased
on the December 2005 local elections. Addressing this
"deep-Green" (pro-independence) gathering, President Chen
took the opportunity once again to reiterate his "Republic of
China (ROC) is Taiwan" and his "four stages of ROC" thesis.
He acknowledged that any future was possible, so long as it
reflected the wishes of the people, but he did not state that
one possibility was reunification. End Summary.


2. (C) President Chen Shui-bian and former President Lee
Teng-hui mounted the stage together for the first time in
three months at the August 6 fourth anniversary celebration
of the founding of the staunchly pro-independence TSU. In
the days before the event, TSU officials had told AIT that
they hoped the event would provide a venue for reconciliation
between Chen and TSU's "Spiritual Leader" Lee and between DPP
and TSU. Chen and Lee interacted congenially onstage and
reportedly met in private prior to the event. Only Chen,
however, demonstrated willingness to reach out to the other
coalition partner, TSU, while Lee continued to express
dissatisfaction with the overall direction of Chen government
policies.


3. (C) Relations between Pan-Green coalition partners DPP
and TSU and their two leaders, Chen and Lee, have continued
to worsen since Lee launched scathing attacks on Chen for
being "too soft" in response to the PRC's Anti-Secession Law
in March and to the visits of KMT Chair Lien Chan and PFP
Chair James Soong to Beijing in April-May. This friction
over cross-strait relations was further exacerbated when the
two parties began planning for the December 2005 city/county
chief elections, as efforts by the two coalition partners to
cooperate on nominations failed to materialize.


4. (C) In his remarks, President Chen assured a
standing-room-only crowd of TSU politicians and supporters
that he will not waiver on his insistence on Taiwan,s
separate identity from China and his pledge to protect
Taiwan,s sovereignty and eventually make Taiwan a "normal,
complete, advanced, and great" country. Chen described the
DPP and TSU as "ideological allies and action partners" and
stressed that the two parties share goals of strengthening
Taiwan,s national identity and sustainable development. At
the same time, Chen also admitted that the two parties,
missions and roles probably differ slightly at the moment and
expressed his hope that "any rifts between us over electoral
competition should not obstruct our cooperation in pursuing
our common goals." (Note: A member of the audience gave
Poloff a running translation of the Taiwanese language
statements of Chen and Lee. End Note.)


5. (U) In describing his policy, Chen reiterated the "four
stages of the Republic of China (ROC)" with the current stage
being "the ROC is Taiwan" (See Reftel). His statement was
greeted with polite but underwhelming applause from the
audience. Chen stressed that his administration is seeking
both reconciliation with opposition parties and cross-strait
detente in order to achieve domestic political stability and
pursue a breakthrough in deadlocked cross-strait relations.
He added that any future for Taiwan was possible, so long as
it was in accordance with the sovereign will of the Taiwan
people. He did not, however, specify that one possible
future was reunification. Chen defined his administration's
engagement with China as "One Principle," "Three
Insistences," and "Five Oppositions":

-- One Principle: Taiwan,s sovereign status. Chen added
that his administration looks forward to hold dialogue and
consultations with China under the principle of "democracy,
parity, and peace."

-- Three Insistences: Insisting on continued democratic
reform; insisting on Taiwan,s separate identity from China;
and insisting on developing Taiwan into a "normal, complete,
advanced, and great" country.

-- Five Oppositions: Opposing Beijing,s "One China"
principle; opposing Beijing,s "One Country, Two Systems"
unification formula; opposing the so-called "1992 Consensus";
opposing any proposal that upholds unification as the only
option for Taiwan,s future; and opposing China,s
anti-secession law that codifies the use of "non-peaceful
means" against Taiwan.


6. (U) While the crowed listened closely to President
Chen,s statements and applauded occasionally, former
President Lee was the main event, commanding a standing
ovation and repeated hearty cheers from the audience. Lee
focused his comments on criticizing "collusion" of pan-Blue
alliance leaders with China, especially the visits by
Kuomintang Chairman Lien Chan and People First Party James
Soong to the Mainland. He asserted that Taiwan's most
dangerous enemies were those leaders who benefited from
contact with the PRC. Lee also urged TSU politicians to
stand united and to do their best to ensure that the party,s
nominees for the December city and county elections succeed
in their electoral bids. Finally, Lee stated that it is time
for the TSU to stand on its own as a political party,
depending only on itself for success. He conceded that this
would not be a quick and easy process; after all "Rome was
not built in a day." Lee asserted that the TSU plays a
unique role in Taiwan politics as "the only anti-Communist
political party" in Taiwan.
PAAL