TAIWAN FOREIGN MINISTER ON HIZBALLAH, IRAN, AND WHO

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 TAIPEI 001790 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2016 TAGS: PREL ECCT PARM MTCR WHO TBIO IR TW SUBJECT: TAIWAN FOREIGN MINISTER ON HIZBALLAH, IRAN, AND WHO REF: RYAN-TO-YOUNG E-MAIL MAY 23 2006 Classified By: AIT Director Stephen M. Young. Reason(s): 1.4 (B/D) ¶1. (S) Summary. Taiwan Foreign Minister James Huang told the Director that Taiwan will respect U.S. sensitivities regarding both Hizballah and Iran. His unannounced visit to Lebanon in April was intended to establish friendly relations and explore commercial opportunities. The meeting with a Hizballah leader at a reception was unplanned and unexpected. Taiwan has put on hold its plan to establish a trade Office in Tehran in deference to U.S. concerns. End Summary. Taiwan and Hizballah -------------- ¶2. (S) Israeli Representative to Taiwan Ruth Kahanoff requested a meeting with the Director on May 22 to discuss Israel's concerns about contact between Taiwan and Hizballah in Lebanon. On the tail end of his trip to Africa in early April, Taiwan Foreign Minister James Huang paid a secret visit to Lebanon where he was hosted by Lebanese FM Fawzi Salukh, according to Kahanoff. The Israeli office here learned that during his visit, FM Huang was introduced to Hizballah Secretary General Nassrullah. Officials at the West Asian Department of the Taiwan MOFA confirmed Huang's meeting with Nassrullah to Kahanoff, but they dismissed it as merely a courtesy call suggested by FM Salukh. ¶3. (S) However, Kahanoff said she later learned from an unidentified country representative in our unofficial corps here that garrulous NSC Deputy Secretary General Parris Chang had bragged to him that Taiwan might sell certain sensitive equipment, including night vision devices, to Lebanon (she speculated possibly directly to Hizballah but couldn't further confirm that point) as part of an attempt to curry favor, and perhaps lead to a diplomatic breakthrough. Kahanoff subsequently wrote a letter to FM Huang raising concerns about his meeting with Hizballah, stressing to him that Hizballah has been designated by both Israel and the U.S. as a terrorist organization with close links to Iran. That letter was sent before President Chen's early May trip to Latin America during which a hoped-for transit stop in Lebanon fell through; it remains unanswered. Kahanoff expressed hope that AIT might separately approach the Taiwan FM to convey our common concerns about Hizballah ¶4. (S) Following coordination with the Department, the Director delivered talking points on Hizballah (ref e-mail, text provided para 10) to FM Huang on May 23. Huang explained that the purpose of his unannounced April visit to Lebanon had been to understand the regional situation, discuss cooperative projects, and explore potential markets there for Taiwan goods and possible sources for energy supplies. In Beirut, he met with the Interior Minister and "a few foreign friends." He did not meet with the Foreign Minister, whom he understood to be close to Hizballah, nor had he planned to meet with any Hizballah officials. His meeting with Hizballah leader Nassrullah at a reception in Beirut, Huang said, had been unplanned and unexpected. Huang stressed that he understood the special U.S. sensitivities regarding Hizballah and emphasized that his initiative in Lebanon "will by no means challenge U.S. policy." His Lebanon visit, he reiterated, was intended only to establish friendly relations and to explore commercial opportunities, especially securing product markets and energy supplies, explaining that Taiwan "does not want to put all of our eggs in one basket," China. Taiwan Representative Office in Iran -------------- ¶5. (S) FM Huang then raised Taiwan's desire to establish a representative office in Iran, noting that he had discussed this issue with the U.S. in February. Taiwan concluded an TAIPEI 00001790 002 OF 003 agreement with Iran a year ago to establish a Taiwan trade office in Tehran, because Taiwan purchases some USD 2 billion of products from Iran each year and because Iran represents a potentially huge market for Taiwan products. The only reason Taiwan had not proceeded to open an office in Iran, Huang explained, was because of U.S. concerns, though he was not sure whether the U.S. had ever specifically requested Taiwan not to open a trade office in Iran. Although he understood the timing for opening an office in Iran is particularly sensitive now, Huang argued that if Taiwan could establish a trade office in Tehran, it could cooperate with Washington by exchanging information and by supporting the U.S. policy of peaceful transformation in Iran. ¶6. (S) The Director expressed U.S. appreciation for the close cooperation between AIT and the Taiwan NSC and National Security Bureau (NSB) in working to prevent Iranian exploitation of Taiwan's open market and high tech capabilities. He stressed the importance of staying vigilant for Iranian government or industry efforts to obtain Taiwan high tech items that might contribute to development of missiles and WMD. Positive Face on Transit -------------- ¶7. (C) FM Huang pointed to his interview in the current issue of "The Journalist" magazine (no. 1002),in which he gave a detailed account of President Chen's transits on his trip to Latin America. He pointed out that he explained the flight westward, vice eastward via Alaska, as intended to avoid embarrassment to Taiwan and the U.S. and as an opportunity to explore diplomatic initiatives in other regions. The Director responded that his own public comments have been in the same vein, emphasizing that U.S.-Taiwan ties are strong and have not been damaged and that we are looking forward to enhancing cooperation with Taiwan. Taiwan at WHO -------------- ¶8. (C) The Director expressed appreciation for Taiwan's cooperative attitude on the WHO, in particular its International Health Regulations (IHR) announcement and its stance at the WHA yesterday. Noting support from Canada and New Zealand for Taiwan WHO participation, he stressed that the U.S. desires to work with Taiwan to enhance its active participation in WHO activities. Huang responded that Taiwan had been surprised by the relatively low-key PRC behavior in Geneva, noting that "We were hoping the PRC would react in the traditional way." PRC Squeezing Taiwan's International Space -------------- ¶9. (C) PRC diplomacy is not always quite so nuanced, FM Huang continued, pointing to PRC FM Li Zhaoxing's May 18 meeting with the foreign ministers of four of Taiwan's allies in Mexico City -- a heavy-handed effort "to undermine our position in Central America." At the meeting, Li accused the four FMs and their countries of violating the "one China policy" and hurting the PRC, which he followed with a rather clumsy charm offensive. Taiwan, Huang noted wryly, "is fortunate to have Li Zhaoxing as PRC Foreign Minister." Talking Points Presented to Foreign Minister -------------- ¶10. (S) The demarche talking points Director delivered to FM Huang as directed by ref e-mail were as follows: -- Hizballah is a designated foreign terrorist organization. Before 9/11, Hizballah was responsible for more American deaths than any other terrorist organization in the world. -- The Lebanese Government headed by Prime Minister Siniora TAIPEI 00001790 003 OF 003 is working hard to reassert sovereignty and control throughout the country following Syrian military withdrawal in April 2005. The GOL made a decision to disarm Palestinian militias outside refugee camps within six months and the ongoing "national dialogue" is currently discussing the status of Hizballah's arms. -- The international community has repeatedly called for Hizballah's disarmament through a series of UN Security Council resolutions, including UNSCR 1559 and 1680. -- We urge you to avoid meeting with members of Hizballah and restrict your meetings with Lebanese officials to those legitimately elected by the Lebanese people. Until Hizballah renounces violence and disarms, it cannot play a role as a legitimate political actor. As UN Secretary General Annan said in his April 2006 report, "Armed militias outside the control of the government are incompatible with restoration of Lebanon's sovereignty, unity, and political independence." -- Hizballah relies on money laundering and other criminal activity as a means of raising funds. They view criminal enterprises as a means of diversifying their funding sources. Hizballah is involved in a wide range of criminal activities, ranging from trafficking in counterfeit or pirated goods to sophisticated money laundering, insurance and credit card fraud schemes. -- The Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Lebanese Hizballah have been linked to armor-piercing explosives that have resulted in the deaths of Coalition forces in Iraq. YOUNG