MEDIA REACTION: CROSS-STRAIT RELATIONS, U.S.-TAIWAN

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 003628 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: CROSS-STRAIT RELATIONS, U.S.-TAIWAN RELATIONS ¶1. Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies put their focus October 24 on the follow-on movements of the "Oust Bian" campaign; on the year-end Taipei and Kaohsiung mayoral races; on the Center for Disease Control's decision Monday to suspend the use of flu vaccines from a French company following the reported death of four Israelis after injections of the vaccines; and on cross-Strait medical and agricultural exchanges. The pro-independence "Liberty Times," Taiwan's largest-circulation daily, is the only paper that covered a Bloomberg interview with KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou Monday; the story was run with a banner headline on page two that said "If Victorious in the 2008 [Election], Ma Wants to Sign [Deal] with China Using No Independence in Exchange for No Use of Force." Several papers also reported on inside pages that the U.S. arms procurement bill will be blocked in the Legislative Yuan again today until the prosecutor closes the Presidential allowance for state affairs case. ¶2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, a "Liberty Times" editorial criticized KMT Chairman Ma's proposed deal with China should his party wins the 2008 presidential election, as reported in an interview with Bloomberg. The article lashed out at Ma for using Taiwan's sovereignty as a tribute to curry favor with China. An editorial in the limited-circulation, conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post," however, discussed Taiwan's role as a "revisionist power" and said "the market for Taiwan independence is fast shrinking at home and abroad." An editorial in the limited-circulation, pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News," on the other hand, urged Taiwan to boost substantive ties with the United States. End summary. ¶3. Cross-Strait Relations A) "Question for Ma Ying-jeou: How Can Taiwan's Sovereignty Be Used as Tribute to China?" The pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 600,000] editorialized (10/24): "KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou said during an interview with Bloomberg that [his party] will negotiate a peace agreement with China by 2012 if it wins the presidential election in 2008. ... Sources said the cross-Strait peace agreement, as Ma claims, will ensure Taiwan's security from attack from China in exchange for a guarantee that the island will not seek independence; and a precondition for the deal is that China remove the 800 missiles it has been targeting at Taiwan. According to Ma, the peace deal will not include ultimate unification [with China], which will be decided by Taiwan's 23 million people and could only be achieved after China has evolved into a country of freedom, democracy and prosperity. "This paper has analyzed many times that Taiwan's so-called guarantee that it will not declare independence in exchange for China's assurance that it will not use force [against the island] is basically an uneven barter, because such a deal will in reality sacrifice Taiwan's sovereignty while China's one-China principle remains intact. If Taiwan guarantees that it will not declare independence, there will be only one option - the one-China principle - left for both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Do the Taiwan people need Ma to sign a contract that sells out Taiwan? It is evident that Ma's national identity has deviated from Taiwan, as Ma shows particular interest in a deal that is very unfavorable for the island. ... "... If Ma wants China to guarantee that it will not use force [against Taiwan], it should be a guarantee without any conditions. Ma should [do so] by urging the international community to impose pressure [on China], and by strengthening Taiwan's defense capability. But Ma obviously does not intend to do so; instead, he plans to use Taiwan's national sovereignty as a tribute to curry favor with China and to ask the latter not to use force against Taiwan. This is called surrender rather than peace. ..." B) "Taiwan a Revisionist Power" The conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post" [circulation: 30,000] editorialized (10/24): "... Taiwan is also a revisionist power because of the separatism and anti-China stance of President Chen Shui-bian and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after their rise to power in the 2000 democratic transfer of government. Ironically, rising China, the potential challenge to America's sole superpower status, is a serious promoter of status quo and stability in the Taiwan Strait and elsewhere. 'Indeed, China is easier to deal with today than ever before. The United States needs a policy to contend with China's ability to destabilize Asia, not a policy to deal with a future hegemony. China is a revisionist power, but for the foreseeable future it will seek to maintain the status quo.' That's RELATIONS the observation of Robert S. Ross, professor of political science at Boston College and a research associate at the John King Fairbank Center for East Asian Research at Harvard University. ... "The market for Taiwan independence is fast shrinking at home and abroad; it only serves to isolate the island further. Chen must go sooner or later and the DPP is declining rapidly. Before revising its independence charter, the party has little chance of winning majority support." ¶4. U.S.-Taiwan Relations "Taiwan Must Boost Substantive U.S. Ties" The pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" [circulation: 20,000] editorialized (10/24): "Despite the close historical ties between Taiwan and the United States and their shared democratic values, it cannot be denied that the mutual relationship between Taipei and Washington has been rocky in recent years. The Republican Party administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has given Washington too many surprises in cross-Strait issues with the hostile People's Republic of China. Moreover, Washington officials have repeatedly voiced their view that the failure to implement a proposed procurement of three advanced defensive weapon systems shows Taiwan's refusal to accept responsibility for defense of the country. "On the other hand, many of Taiwan's citizens feel that Washington has violated its principles as leader of the world's democratic community by attempting to unilaterally suppress the voices of Taiwan's people and by standing in the way of our deepening democracy and emergence as a 'normal country' and an active participant in the world community. Despite such differences, it is essential for leaders of both sides, regardless of party affiliation, to see beyond short-term tensions to realize their common interests in facing the potential dangers involved in the economic and military rise of an authoritarian China into a major regional and world power. Above all, since Taiwan's democratic society directly confronts the most threatening aspect of an expansionist PRC, and the U.S. is the only world power with the capability and willingness to help Taiwan defend itself, it is incumbent on Taiwan to enhance substantive ties with the U.S. ... "Taiwan's top diplomatic priority thus remains to be the deepening of ties with the United States and re-examination of its current strategy, especially as Washington nears the arrival of the post-Bush era. ... Second, Taiwan's policy makers need to intensify efforts to help counterparts in the U.S. realize that the status quo of the Taiwan Strait has already been changed dramatically by factors such as the over 800 missiles and other offensive forces Beijing has aimed at Taiwan. ... Despite its contributions to regional security, the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act is inadequate to cope with these new realities. Moreover, our diplomats should do more to help the U.S. realize that Taiwan is a democratic society and that its government should not always be criticized by Washington, especially by civic or political groups, about constitutional or legal reforms that aim to consolidate and deepen our democracy or for even proposing our entry into the United Nations. ... Third, another reason Taiwan's government should pay even more attention to cultivating relations with state governments in the U.S. is that they are also being intensely wooed by Beijing. Fourth, as noted above, Taiwan's most crucial political battleground may well be in the U.S. Congress, especially in the House of Representatives. ..." YOUNG