FOREIGN POLICY DISCOMFORTS; DPP DISCOMFORTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L TAIPEI 003808

SIPDIS

STATE PASS AIT/W

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/14/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL TW
SUBJECT: FOREIGN POLICY DISCOMFORTS; DPP DISCOMFORTS


Classified By: AIT Acting Director David J. Keegan, Reason(s):
1.4 (B/D)


1. (C) Former Taiwan Foreign Minister Tien Hung-mao told AIT
earlier this week that he has become increasingly
uncomfortable with the &green8 tilt of MOFA and its
diplomatic representation abroad since he left office in
February 2002. More and more, he complained, Taiwan,s
representatives and ambassadors have been selected for their
&greenness8 (pro-independence sentiments).


2. (C) Tien explained that his top priority when he took
office as President Chen Shui-bian,s first Foreign Minister
in May 2000 had been to maintain continuity and reassure
friends and allies that Taiwan foreign policy would not
radically change under the DPP. President Chen, on the other
hand, had from the very outset pushed his independence
agenda, greatly complicating Tien,s work as Foreign
Minister. Noting Chen,s recent non-starter initiative to
meet Hu Jintao at the November 2005 APEC leaders, meeting,
Tien explained that he, Tien, had similarly tried to utilize
the November 2001 Shanghai APEC meeting as a stage for Taiwan
and the PRC to meet. The difference, Tien explained, was
that he, Tien, had worked for weeks trying to get Chen and
his advisors to focus on the Shanghai meeting so that he
could prepare the way with the U.S., PRC and other attendees.
Chen, however, waited until one week before the meeting to
announce that Lee Teng-hui would represent Taiwan -- too
late, Tien lamented, and causing Taiwan to completely miss an
opportunity to improve cross-Strait relations.


3. (C) Tien, who grew up in Tainan &just a bicycle ride8
from Chen Shui-bian, said he was surprised how much Chen and
DPP support has slipped in Tainan over the past eight months.
When he, Tien, visited Tainan last week, he found that some
of his &bentu8 (Taiwanese) friends were disenchanted, with
some even considering voting for the KMT's Ma Ying-jeou in
the 2008 presidential election, because )- &ironically,8
Tien noted )- the once &black gold8 (corrupt) KMT has
become the party of reform and cleanliness under Ma. Last
month, the former DPP Mayor of Tainan, in the presence of
Tien Hung-mao, told the Director that the popularity of Chen
and the DPP had declined substantially in Tainan.
Unhappiness over repeated corruption scandals in the ruling
DPP had alienated Tainan voters and given Ma Ying-jeou a
perfect opportunity to establish himself as the
anti-corruption candidate. Ma, the mayor added, is easily
the most popular candidate for 2008 in Tainan.
KEEGAN