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