MEDIA REACTION: TAIWAN'S NATIONAL SECURITY REPORT,

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001733 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: TAIWAN'S NATIONAL SECURITY REPORT, U.S.-TAIWAN RELATIONS ¶1. Summary: As Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies continued to center their reporting May 19 on alleged involvement in insider trading by President Chen Shui-bian's son-in-law, who withdrew from the DPP Thursday, coverage also focused on Chen's approval of the island's first-ever National Security Report and local corruption scandals. The pro-independence "Liberty Times," Taiwan's biggest daily, ran a banner-headline news story on page four with the headline: "First-Ever National Security Report Does Not Stipulate Timetable for [Cross-Strait] Direct Transportation." The pro-independence "Taiwan Daily" also ran a front-page headline on the National Security Report, saying that a democratic Taiwan and the pursuit of peace will be the island's strategic pivot. Several papers carried on inside pages remarks by Presidential Office Secretary-General Mark Chen in Washington D.C. that the United SIPDIS States is concerned about the process of Taiwan's constitutional changes. ¶2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, a "Liberty Times" editorial praised Chen for approving Taiwan's first National Security Report, and urged both the ruling and opposition parties to forge a consensus with regard to Taiwan's future strategic pivot. An opinion piece in the limited-circulation, pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" criticized Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick's recent remarks in a congressional hearing. The article said "Zoellick's remarks reflect the US' heavy bias toward China and how it is being threatened by Beijing," and that "the 'Zoellick incident' also shows that the State Department does not have talent capable of presenting creative ideas." An editorial in the limited-circulation, pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" urged the Taiwan government to use independent diplomacy to protect Taiwan's democracy. End summary. ¶3. Taiwan's National Security Report "Both the Ruling and Opposition Parties Should Forge Consensus in Working Out Sketch of Taiwan's Future Strategic Pivot" The pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 600,000] editorialized (5/19): "... [Thursday's] National Security Council meeting reviewed and passed Taiwan's first-ever national security report, announcing the direction Taiwan's sustainable development under the covetous eyes of its strong enemy. This first-ever national security report of Taiwan will be presented to President Chen Shui-bian for his approval, and after it is published, it will become the guideline controlling the government's future administration. ... "In a nutshell, the National Security Council has been institutionalized; it is no longer an agency under an authoritarian system, but a crisis management agency in a democratic county. In the wake of increasing Chinese threats, it is legitimate and justifiable for Chen to host such an NSC meeting. In particular, ... the government needs to have some guidelines to follow so that it can make 'national security' a consensus between the ruling and opposition parties, and come up with a strategic pivot for Taiwan's future development. The hosting of such an NSC meeting was thus of great significance." ¶4. U.S.-Taiwan Relations A) "US Playing into Beijing's Hands" Professor Chen Hurng-yu of National Taiwan University's Department of History opined in the pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" [circulation: 300,000] (5/19): "... China has time and again said that it would attack if Taiwan declares independence. Since US and Chinese thinking on this issue is beginning to converge, they share the same interest in the Taiwan issue. Washington and Beijing are clearly seeking a quid pro quo, and this is by no means advantageous to the nation. ... Zoellick made it clear that Chen is seen as a proponent of Taiwanese independence. If the US is friendly toward Chen, then it might be translated into US support for Taiwanese independence, eventually drawing the US into a cross-strait war. ... "Looking at the current international situation, it is puzzling to see the US accept China's repeated threats to wage war against Taiwan. Has the US stopped being critical of Beijing because it has established a strategic partnership with this warmonger? The US should come up with a strategy to end or cool down Beijing's belligerence, but instead it is joining it. Zoellick's attitude is a good example of this. What is at issue is whether the US really believes China will use force if Taiwan formally declares independence, or whether it will pretend that it sees eye to eye with China in exchange for other strategic benefits. ... "China has vowed to take Taiwan by force if Taiwan moves toward de jure independence. Surprisingly, the US has accepted China's threat. Will the US really accept this unreasonable proposition? Hasn't the US State Department consulted experts in international law? If the US' Taiwan policy continues along this trend, Taiwan will sooner or later shake off US interference, for in the eyes of Taiwanese intellectuals, the US is allying itself with China to strangle Taiwan. Zoellick's remarks reflect the US' heavy bias toward China and how it is being threatened by Beijing. The 'Zoellick incident' also shows that the State Department does not have talent capable of presenting creative ideas. Under China's shadow, the US is moving forward with hesitation and without firm moral stance." B) "Using Independent Diplomacy to Protect Democracy" The pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" [circulation: 20,000] editorialized (5/19): "The People's Republic of China government has recently sent several delegations to Taiwan in a very low-profile manner to probe the impact of PRC State Chairman Hu Jintao's visit to the United States on Taiwan and to discover what President Chen Shui-bian's next step will be. A major preoccupation of Beijing and its sycophants abroad is whether Chen's promotion of a 'bottom-up' second-phase constitutional re-engineering will lead Taiwan toward 'formal independence,' a bogeyman that has been conveniently resurrected as a possible ' provocation' by the incautious statements by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick during a House of Representatives committee hearing last week. ... "It was evident that Hu did not receive his anticipated benefits from visiting Bush and that Hu's disappointment appeared to be Taiwan's gain. However, the subsequent flap between Washington and Taipei over the transit arrangements for President Chen's state visits to Paraguay and Costa Rica revealed that Washington was actually more concerned with avoiding ruffling Beijing's feathers and appealing for the PRC's cooperation in dealing with the Iran nuclear proliferation issue and other international affairs than with accommodating Taiwan's presidential diplomacy efforts. President Chen and his foreign policy team must handle the new, more complex situation in the triangular relations very carefully. ..." YOUNG