MEDIA REACTION: U.S., CHINA AND TAIWAN RELATIONS

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 004046 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: U.S., CHINA AND TAIWAN RELATIONS Summary: Taiwan's major dailies December 4 focused on a secret meeting between KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou and PFP Chairman James Soong one week before mayoral elections in Taipei and Kaohsiung; the return of President Chen Shui-bian's son, Chen Chih-chung, and daughter-in-law, Huang Rui-ching, from the United States to Taiwan; and the traffic accident of a tourist bus, killing 21 and injuring 24 aboard. In terms of editorials and commentaries, two editorials commented on scholarly opinions at a seminar at George Washington University on December 1. The pro-independence "Liberty Times," Taiwan's largest circulation daily, urged in its editorial that the government look squarely into Professor Robert Sutter's warning that if Taiwan's pan-Blue alliance continues building closer ties with China, this will make the United States reevaluate its Taiwan policy and will even negatively influence the deployment of U.S. military in this region. The mass-circulation "Apple Daily" noted in its editorial that one should not feel surprised about these opinions, and President Chen should take responsibility for the deterioration in Taiwan-U.S. relations. End summary. A) "Look Squarely at a Warning from a U.S. Scholar on Taiwan's Relaxation of its Self-Defense" The pro-independence, Taiwan's largest circulation daily "Liberty Times" [circulation: 600,000] editorialized (12/04): "Professor Robert Sutter of the U.S.'s Georgetown University said at a seminar that the image that Taiwan is unwilling to defend itself is deeply rooted in people's minds in Washington, D.C., and it will negatively influence Taiwan's lobbying in the United States. [Professor Sutter added that] If the pan-Blue alliance continues building closer relations with China, this will make the United States reevaluate its Taiwan policy and even negatively influence the deployment of the U.S. military in this region. In other words, the negative influence of blocking the passage of the U.S. arms procurement bill on Taiwan's security, on its strategic position, and even on Taiwan-U.S. relations is gradually growing; this is a warning that we cannot neglect. "... Due to the ideology of the pan-Blue alliance, and after the change of ruling parties in 2000, it [the pan-Blue alliance] has on the one hand hindered the administration of the Chen government; on the other hand, it has not concealed its pro-unification attitude but has made several pilgrimages to China to express that attitude, and it has clandestinely become a tool to carry out China's 'United Front' strategies. "The blocking of the U.S. arms procurement bill by the pan-Blue alliance is solid evidence proving that the pan-Blue alliance has become China's tool for 'United Front' strategies. ... The pan-Blue alliance's method not only reduces Taiwan's national defense strength but also severely jeopardizes Taiwan's image and has made Taiwan a rascal who only intends to rely on the protection of others without paying a price for self-defense. ..." B) "U.S.-Taiwan Relations are Bad" The mass-circulation "Apple Daily" [circulation: 500,000] editorialized (December 4): "At a seminar in Washington, D.C., several U.S. scholars said that the Bush Administration is the friendliest administration toward Taiwan, but [President] Chen Shui-bian's style of doing whatever he pleases has sabotaged the relationship; no matter which political party becomes the ruling party, the good opportunity is gone. "This is a depressing but unsurprising conclusion. President Chen has weighed foreign affairs, cross-Strait relations, and Taiwan-U.S. relations on the scale of domestic politics and personal advantage and disadvantage; the result is inevitable. ..." YOUNG