MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-CHINA SUMMIT

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001413 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - ERIC BARBORIAK DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-CHINA SUMMIT ¶1. Summary: Taiwan's leading Chinese-language dailies focused their coverage April 22-24 on Chinese President Hu Jintao's U.S. trip and his meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush last Thursday; the controversial battle over the ownership of the Sogo Department Store, in which First Lady Wu Shu-chen was allegedly involved; the year-end Taipei and Kaohsiung mayoral race; and other local scandals. All papers reported in their inside pages that Taiwan welcomed Bush's reiteration of the U.S. commitment to cross-Strait peace in his talks with Hu. The pro-independence "Liberty Times," Taiwan's biggest daily, ran a banner headline on its front page April 22 that read: "In Terms of Cross-Strait Situation, Taiwan and the United States Each to Start Computer War Games." The pro-independence "Taiwan Daily" also ran a banner headline on its front page April 22 that said: "To Guard Against China, the United States Strengthens Its Military Buildup in the Pacific." The pro-status quo "China Times," however, ran an exclusive news story on its page four April 24 with the headline: "U.S., Taiwan Mends [Mutual] Ties: [President] Chen Shui-bian, [Premier] Su Tseng Chang Are Expected to Transit in New York [Respectively] in May." ¶2. Almost all papers editorialized on the Bush-Hu meeting April 22. A "Liberty Times" editorial said Hu lost both face and substantive benefits during his U.S. trip. A "Taiwan Daily" editorial said the Bush-Hu meeting highlighted Washington's wariness of China. An editorial in the limited-circulation, pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" said the Bush-Hu meeting yielded nothing, while an editorial in the limited-circulation, pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" said Taiwan's democratization was left out in the Bush-Hu talks. A "China Times" editorial reviewed the Bush-Hu meeting from the perspective of global power distribution, saying Washington needs China's assistance on many global issues, but in the meantime, it is unwilling to fully recognize China's rising status. An editorial in the pro-unification "United Daily News" discussed the changes and constants in Washington-Beijing-Taipei ties. An editorial in the limited-circulation, conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post" said in the wake of Hu's U.S. trip, he is increasingly seen as a major player in the international arena. End summary. A) "Hu Jintao Loses Both Superficial and Substantive Benefits During His U.S. Trip" The pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 600,000] editorialized (4/22): "... During [Chinese President] Hu Jintao's U.S. trip, his publicity tactics failed to help change his image, and instead, the Falun Gong practitioner's protest [outside the White House] turned out to be the focus of international media, revealing China's totalitarian nature. When it comes to other substantive issues, Taiwan was originally not an issue that Washington was interested in talking about, but Bush's preemptive move to reiterate the U.S.' consistent position [over the Taiwan issue] made Hu's attempt to play the same old tune of coercing Taiwan sound relatively weak. In terms of the economic issues that were of mutual concerns to both sides, Hu's lip-service-like responses and publicity measures could hardly remove the U.S. Congress' call for trade countermeasures against China. ... As for other issues concerning foreign relations and human rights, Washington was naturally displeased with China's perfunctory attitude and the lack of substantive progress [of their talks]. ..." B) "The Bush-Hu Meeting Highlights Washington's Wariness of China, But the Pan-Blue Camp Seeks to Befriend China Unilaterally in an Attempt to Change the Status quo" The pro-independence "Taiwan Daily" [circulation: 100,000] editorialized (4/22): "... China's rise in the military aspect has aroused great doubts in the international community, including the United States. In particular, Beijing's passage of the Anti-Secession Law, which authorizes the use of non-peaceful means, has endangered peace across the Taiwan Strait. China's recent approval of the guidelines for its eleventh five-year plan, in which Taiwan is defined as an inseparable part of the PRC's sacred territory, was also a move that has seriously altered the status quo across the Taiwan Strait. The pan-Blue politicians and unification-aligned media in Taiwan either overlooked these facts or took them for granted. Their unilateral tilting toward China and pro-Chinese Communist Party position in order to seek final unification have failed to meet the Taiwan people's interests and are against the international trend. All the Taiwan people should unanimously condemn them." C) "Hu Jintao's Battle with Symbols" The pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" [circulation: 30,000] wrote in an editorial (4/22): "... Hu's trip will be remembered more for symbolism than breakthroughs in bilateral relations, and it is instructive that the two powers could not even agree on the status of the visit - 'official' or 'state' - and that Hu was not thrown a reception down home on Bush's Texas range. ... But, as events at the White House showed, until such time that professionals such as these contribute to the Chinese Communist Party's survival and actively craft a more user-friendly Chinese nationalism, Hu and his underlings will continue to struggle to understand how to market their image to anyone for whom there is more to life than cultural relativism and conscience-free cash." D) "Democracy Left out in Bush-Hu Talks" The pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" [circulation: 20,000] commented in an editorial (4/24): "... In our view, Bush took a major step backward by not reaffirming the democratic position enunciated by former president William Clinton in February 2000 that Washington will 'continue to make absolutely clear that the issues between Beijing and Taiwan must be resolved peacefully and with the assent of the people of Taiwan.' Moreover, Bush failed to openly reiterate his previous call on the PRC leader to engage in dialogue with Taiwan's democratically-elected leader and government. We believe this retreat from democratic values should not be ignored. "After all, the essential elements that underline a healthy and sustainable relationship between the United States and Taiwan must include shared belief in the universal values of democracy, freedom and human rights as well as long-term interest in cross-strait peace and security and mutually beneficial economic ties. Moreover, we believe the triangular relationship between Taipei, Washington and Beijing should be analyzed in a broader context, namely how the world community should handle the problem of how to ensure that 'the rise of China' remains peaceful. "Bush used the Hu visit to send a message that his administration would adopt a mixed strategy of 'containment' and 'engagement' to turn Beijing into a 'responsible stakeholder' and cajole the PRC toward the road of economic liberalization and democratic opening. Taiwan's role as a beacon of democratization in Asia can help promote the values of democracy, freedom, human rights and peace in China and the Asia-Pacific region and can thus complement U.S. interests in this regard. Our best strategy is to build a broad-based alliance of democracy through both official and civic diplomacy in the world community, including but not limited to the U.S., and carefully and candidly elaborate the centrality of the protection and deepening of democracy in Taiwan for regional and global peace." E) "To Review the Bush-Hu Meeting from the Perspective of Global Power Distribution" The pro-status quo "China Times" [circulation: 400,000] said in an editorial (4/22): "... It is a fact that the United States does not regard China as one of its allies. But in view of China's increasing influence, Washington is bound to negotiate with China with regard to many global issues. That is where the conflict lies. ... The security talks [between Bush and Hu at the White House's Oval Office] concretely and subtly manifested China's importance in global affairs. Washington needs China's assistance [in this aspect], but it felt reluctant to fully recognize China's rising position. If handled inappropriately, this might be one of the sources for future tensions or conflicts between the two nations. "Another possible source of tensions was that China will not accommodate Washington's needs in every way. For the Korean Peninsula [nuclear] issue, China's influence on Pyongyang may be far greater that the world can imagine, but the influence that Beijing is willing to exert on North Korea may be much smaller than anyone can imagine. As for Iran, in addition to China's own energy interests, Beijing basically does not think that Washington's current policy to put pressure on Iran is a correct one. ..." F) "Bush-Hu Meeting: Changes and Constants in the Washington-Beijing-Taipei Ties" The pro-unification "United Daily News" [circulation: 400,000] commented in an editorial (4/22): "It is more than clear that over the past few years, the Taiwan authorities have been trying everything it can to seek to change cross-Strait relations; from denying the '1992 Consensus' to 'scrapping the National Unification Council,' [the DPP government] has made consistent attempts to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait. But the first issue that was set tune during the Bush-Hu meeting was that the cross-Strait status quo must remain unchanged, and only when based on such an 'unchanged' basis can both sides talk about other issues. ... "... The Chen Shui-bian administration easily simplified all its problems into China's deployment of hundreds of missiles along its coast, and it failed to pay attention to the real situation that cross-Strait relations are bound to be restrained by the triangular structure of Washington-Beijing-Taipei ties. ... If the Chen Shui-bian administration continues to act rashly and step on the 'unchanged' bottom line of the Washington-Beijing-Taipei relations, the consequences that will affect Taiwan's interests will be bounced back to Taiwan one by one. ..." G) " A Different Hu Jintao" The conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post" [circulation: 30,000] editorialized (4/22): "... Behind Hu's smiling face lies a new strategy of wooing the American people and the business community. This smiling-face diplomacy may dispel the miasma of xenophobia spread by many in Congress who view China as a threat to American dominance in the world. That's why Hu Jintao is eager to convince his American counterpart, George W. Bush, that Beijing's 'peaceful development' poses no threat to U.S. interests, and China has neither the intention nor the capability to compete with the United States for world domination. .. While it is too early to assess the gains or losses of Hu's first official visit to the United States since becoming president in 2003, one thing is clear. Hu's image is getting a boost, so is his prestige at home. He is increasingly seen as a major player in the international arena. ..." YOUNG