MEDIA REACTION: CAMPAIGN TO OUST PRESIDENT CHEN SHUI-BIAN,

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 003187 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - DAVID FIRESTEIN DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: CAMPAIGN TO OUST PRESIDENT CHEN SHUI-BIAN, GWOT ¶1. Summary: As former DPP Chairman Shih Ming-teh's sit-in to oust President Chen Shui-bian continued to stay in the Taiwan media's spotlight September 14, news coverage also focused on a mass "Formosa Sunrise" rally planned by the Taiwan Society on September 16 on Ketagalan Boulevard; President Chen's urge to push Taiwan's bid to join the United Nations under the name of "Taiwan;" and the first cross-Strait medical charter flight, which will take off today. The pro-independence "Liberty Times," Taiwan's biggest daily, ran a front-page banner headline that read "To Fight Red Tide on Saturday, Green Camp Gives Mobilization Order." The pro-unification "United Daily News," on the other hand, ran a front-page banner headline that said "Shih Calls for Peace in the Siege on September 15." ¶2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, a "Liberty Times" editorial criticized Shih's movement, saying it has turned violent and the Taiwan people must spurn the so-called "sacred war" manipulated by certain media outlets and politicians. An editorial in the pro-status quo "China Times," on the other hand, urged the Blue camp to reflect on the role it should play as an opposition party in the movement to oust President Chen. With regard to the war on terrorism, an editorial in the limited-circulation, pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" criticized the war on terrorism launched by the United States, saying it is doomed to failure "as the inevitable result of killing or injury to innocent people only advances the cause of the terrorists." End summary. ¶3. Campaign to Oust President Chen Shui-bian A) "Why Intensify 'People's Inner Struggles' to 'Struggles between Friend and Foe?'" The pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 600,000] editorialized (9/14): "The 'One-Million-Person Anti-Graft Movement' initiated by Shih Ming-teh has launched protests outside the Presidential Office on Ketagalan Boulevard over the past few days. Some people stuck to their course and did not retreat even under the pouring rain; these people's willpower deserves our respect. But given the open interference and incitement by certain media outlets and politicians, this protest, which upholds love and peace and asserts that its goal is to rebuild core values in a civil society, seems to have deviated from its original track and is gradually moving towards the verge of violence. People started to worry whether conflicts will break out any moment. ... "If one looks at history, he can find many instances in which human beings suffered from extreme privation because of the religious wars they launched. Sacred wars are irrational and destructive and are fights to the bitter end. Taiwan, on the other hand, is a democratic country, in which even the most severe infighting does not need to be intensified into struggles between friend and foe by raising a sacred war. The Taiwan people, in particular, have to spurn holy wars manipulated by politicians and media, or they themselves will become the sacrifices of those politicians who want to usurp power." B) "Blue Camp Must Never Overlook Problems That It Confronts" The pro-status quo "China Times" [circulation: 400,000] editorialized (9/14): "While the deafening voices calling to oust Bian are raging on Ketagalan Boulevard, the question regarding the role that the KMT should play seems to have been pushed aside. In other words, when a major problem is on the boil, people tend to overlook those problems of secondary importance; this is the situation the Blue camp is facing now. When the governance of Chen Shui-bian and the ruling DPP has incurred widespread indignation and discontent, the Blue camp, which seems to be sure of its victory in the 2008 presidential election, has obviously failed to see its own problem. ... "When it comes to its options of strategies, the Blue camp distances itself from public opinion now as it did before the transfer of power took place [in 2000]. As of now, the two biggest mistakes that the Blue camp has ever made are its moves to block the [U.S.] arms procurement bill and the appointments of the Control Yuan members. No matter how many professional reasons are offered, [the Blue camp's moves] are viewed as boycotts with evil intentions. For Taiwan, national defense is an issue of essential importance. While China keeps on deploying more missiles aimed at the island, Taiwan's budget for arms procurement has been blocked in the Legislative Yuan more than 50 times. The legislators can sit down to review and revise the way such a budget was allocated or the price tags earmarked for the weaponry; why do they refuse even to allow the bill to be sent to the Procedural Committee? "Frankly speaking, the side effects caused by the long-term blockage of the arms procurement bill are emerging now. First, relations between Taiwan and the United States are negatively affected. Taiwan wants to purchase F-16 C/D fights jets now, but the U.S. response was: no budget, no talk. Second, Taiwan's progress in its national defense buildup is stalled, which also results in the deteriorating balance of military power on the Taiwan Strait. Grass-roots people in Taiwan have a very bad perception of the Blue camp's long-term attempt to block the arms procurement bill; they have no interest in even listening to the Blue camp's explanations. How can a political party which wants to win elections be so ignorant of public opinion? ... "When viewed as a whole, neither the KMT, the People First Party, nor the New Party has made progress over the past few years. ... It is easy to criticize the DPP now, but the performance of the Blue camp over the past few years has also been unsatisfactory. The fact that Shih Ming-teh's campaign to oust Bian can summon so many people has somehow manifested the Taiwan people's disappointment toward the Blue camp. If the Blue camp fails to review and reflect on itself and thoroughly adjust its thinking, it will be overly optimistic for it to expect victory in 2008." ¶4. GWOT "The World after 'September 11'" The pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" [circulation: 20,000] commented in an editorial (9/14): "... The international community absolutely condemns the killings by terrorist organizations of unarmed and innocent people, labeling these actions as crimes against humanity. However, ostensibly to defend against terrorist attacks, the United States and the United Kingdom governments in particular have resorted to actions such as the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, during which far more Afghan and Iraqi citizens, as well as U.S. and British soldiers, were sacrificed than the number of who died in the September 11 terrorist attacks. Moreover, the U.S. government of Republican President George W. Bush has also resorted to violations of the Geneva Conventions and the establishment of offshore political prisons, unconstitutionally monitoring and intercepting overseas and domestic communications, financial information and other measures which combined to form another type of state terrorism. Therefore, we urge the international community to oppose any and all kinds of terrorism, whether perpetrated by individuals, extremist organizations or states. ... "Totalitarian regimes also use politically-motivated violence to create fear among ordinary people, namely the citizens of their own country and thus infringe on their human rights. In addition, other states have used aggressive acts of war to create a universal fear of loss of life or property among people of other countries in an even more severe and direct oppression of human rights. For example, the 'war on terror' launched by the United States government in the wake of September 11, which cost 2,973 lives, has cost the lives of at least 62,006 people, created 4.5 million refugees and more money than would have been needed to pay off the debts of every poor nation on earth, according to a study conducted by London's 'Independent' newspaper. It is evident that the use of violence by terrorist groups cannot realize their political, religious or ideological goals or solve the problems which spawn their formation. Similarly, the use of state violence or state terror by democratic states to conduct a 'war on terror' is equally doomed to failure as the inevitable result of killing or injury to innocent people only advances the cause of the terrorists and simultaneously reduces the human rights of citizens in the democratic countries themselves. ..." YOUNG