AIT CHAIRMAN MEETS TAIWAN PREMIER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 TAIPEI 001984 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE PASS USTR STATE FOR EAP/TC, USTR FOR STRATFORD AND ALTBACH, USDOC FOR 4431/ITA/MAC/AP/OPB/TAIWAN/JDUTTON TREASURY FOR OASIA/LMOGHTADER E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/09/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON EFIN EINV TW SUBJECT: AIT CHAIRMAN MEETS TAIWAN PREMIER REF: TAIPEI 1481 Classified By: AIT DIRECTOR STEPHEN M. YOUNG for reasons 1.5 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Summary. On June 8, Premier Su Tseng-chang told AIT Chairman Burghardt that after delegating powers to Su, President Chen retains authority over security, international affairs and cross-Straits issues. The premier expressed confidence that Taiwan's democratic institutions would weather the current political turmoil surrounding the President. Su said his priorities for Taiwan are economic prosperity, law and order and cross-Strait stability. He blamed Beijing for delays in implementing direct cross-strait charter flights. He is not optimistic about passage of a defense budget, blaming the opposition parties. Su believes there is little likelihood of any constitutional reform and assured Burghardt that any reform would not touch on sovereignty issues or the "four Nos." Su welcomed Burghardt's message that Washington agencies want to take a forward-looking view of bilateral relations. End Summary. ¶2. (U) AIT Chairman Raymond Burghardt had a cordial one hour 15 minute meeting with Premier Su Tseng-chang on June 8. AIT Director Young and AIT Econ Chief Moore (note taker) accompanied Burghardt. Su had Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang, MOFA Director of North American Affairs Leo Lee, MOFA North American Affairs staff officer Ke Liang-ruey (note taker),an interpreter and another note taker sit in on the meeting. Opening Remarks -------------- ¶3. (C) In his opening pleasantries, Su said it was a pleasure to warmly welcome Burghardt back to Taiwan. Burghardt noted that this is his first trip to Taiwan as the Chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). As such, he said the purpose of his trip is to reintroduce himself to people in his new role. He emphasized that the channel of communication between Washington and Taipei is the AIT Director and that Burghardt's role as Chairman is to bring out some of the most recent thinking from people in Washington. Burghardt said he wanted to ask Su how he sees the bilateral relationship and what issues need to be worked on in the relationship. He noted that from Washington's perspective there have been some periods in the relationship where there has not been a clear understanding of what Taiwan is trying to do. Burghardt said progress has been made in this regard recently. Delegation of Powers -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Turning to the current political environment, Burghardt asked what the impact has been on Su's job of President Chen Shui-bian's May 31 announcement delegating powers to Su. He responded by saying Taiwan is a democratic country and operates in accordance with the legal procedures contained in its constitution. As such, his position of Premier, Su said, is to be in charge of the Executive Yuan (EY) and to be appointed by the President. He must also be responsible to the Legislative Yuan (LY) for all of the actions by the Executive branches. Su said President Chen's delegation of powers means that all of the responsibility and power of the EY now reside with him. He quickly added that the President, as the head of the government, is still responsible for international affairs, cross-Strait issues, TAIPEI 00001984 002 OF 004 foreign affairs and national security. Su summed it all up by saying he was responsible for domestic affairs, like management of the economy, and the President for international affairs. Su said that he had no plans to change his cabinet or the people serving in the ministries. ¶5. (SBU) In light of the importance of the cross-Strait economic relationship, Burghardt asked if Su is consulted on cross-Strait policy issues. Su said President Chen, prior to delegating powers, had announced the policy of "Active Management, Effective Opening" on January 1, 2006 and worked in a consultative manner with such organizations as the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC),the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA),the National Security Council (NSC) and other organizations. Su said that as Premier he has directed implementation of cross-Strait policy by working with these various organizations and all the executive units. He does this by instructing his ministers to confidently open up to China when it is in Taiwan's best interests and when this does not represent a threat to Taiwan's security. He cited two examples: 1) Taiwan openness to receiving more tourists from China and 2) permitting greater Taiwan investment in semiconductor plants in China. (Note: Su is referring to liberalization measures allowing Taiwan semiconductor packaging and testing firms to establish operations in China, see ref A. End Note.) Charter Flights -------------- ¶6. (U) Regarding charter flights, Su said talks are ongoing and if they go smoothly he is hopeful that charter flights could open up soon. He complained that there is a misperception Taiwan is unwilling to open up to direct charter flights. The real case, he said, is that the Taiwan side was hopeful of reaching an accord in late May, but that China had backed off recently and so delayed any accord. Su said Taiwan is prepared to welcome Mainland tourists directly from China, but it is Beijing's prohibition that make this impossible. He said the same situation prevails for direct charter flights: Taiwan is more willing to enter into direct cargo flights than is Beijing. Cross-Strait Economics -------------- ¶7. (C) Chairman Burghardt said in crafting its cross-Strait policy, Taiwan needs to recognize China's role in the world economy. China is an important world and regional power that affects how companies make investment decisions in Taiwan and elsewhere in the region. Burghardt noted that Taiwan's friends fully understand China seeks to isolate Taiwan in international affairs, but he urged Taiwan to take a sophisticated view of the world when looking at cross-Strait policy. Su said he absolutely agrees on the need for cross-Strait stability and that the strong Chinese economy presents Taiwan with a problem. He expressed appreciation for U.S. support for Taiwan's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) and for observership status at the World Health Assembly (WHA) and adherence to the International Health Regulations (IHR). Finally, he said Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Bhatia spoke very eloquently on the cross-Strait economic relationship during his visit two weeks ago and noted that Taiwan remains interested in pursuing a free trade agreement with the U.S. Defense Budget TAIPEI 00001984 003 OF 004 -------------- ¶8. (C) Burghardt turned the conversation to Taiwan's defense budget, noting that many in Washington are concerned not just about the special defense budget, but also the low level of defense spending in Taiwan. He said this issue undermines support among Taiwan's best friends in Washington. Taipei has a responsibility to expand the defense budget and to help Taiwan's electorate to understand defense needs. Su said the defense budget has fallen victim to a political game whereby the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) keeps pushing the bill forward and the opposition KMT and PFP parties keep rejecting the bill. He said the DPP is prepared to modify the bill by all possible means, including inclusion in the regular budget, but that the opposition is simply blocking any progress. Su complained that KMT Chair Ma Ying-jeou, prior to his spring visit to the U.S., said the opposition would have an alternate defense spending bill to present in March, but that to date nothing has happened. Su said the PFP is the strongest opponent of military spending. Su flatly said he is not optimistic about making any progress on defense spending, citing an incident two weeks ago when Minister of National Defense Lee Jye mounted a personal lobbying campaign with LY members and assured Su that there was opposition support only to have defense spending once again fail to pass. Constitutional Reform Not Su's Priority -------------- ¶9. (C) Burghardt said Washington is concerned about Taiwan proposals on constitutional reform, noting that it is difficult to understand the issue from afar. President Chen seems to be actively encouraging debate on constitutional reform while also publicly saying that there is no possibility that any serious reform would be passed by the LY. He asked Su how much priority he gave to the constitutional reform issue. Su responded that Taiwan needs constitutional reform because the government structure is so unwieldy it cannot implement policies. However, he said, the threshold for reform is so high that current political conditions make it extremely unlikely that any reform could be carried out. He assured Burghardt that any reforms to be considered would only touch on government reorganization and efficiency, and not on any sovereignty issues. Citing President Chen's encouraging people to sing the national anthem, Su said the U.S. can be assured the DPP has no intention of touching on any of the constitutional issues of concern to the U.S. Su offered his priorities for his cabinet and for the DPP: 1) Economic Prosperity; 2) Law and Order and added that cross-Strait stability is a very important part of achieving these goals; 3) Constitutional Reform would then come in last place. Forward-looking View -------------- ¶10. (C) Burghardt concluded his remarks by saying there is a strong desire in Washington to take a forward-looking view of the bilateral relationship and to find positive ways to improve the relationship. In addition to the issues he noted above, Burghardt said Washington is concerned that Taiwan maintain its commitments on the "four nos." He said any change in these commitments would undermine stability across the Straits. He also assured Su that the timing of his visit is entirely coincidental with the current domestic political turmoil and while he is obviously interested in the issue, it TAIPEI 00001984 004 OF 004 is not the focus of his visit. ¶11. (U) Su wrapped up his remarks with a spirited defense of Taiwan's democratic system. He said the ongoing political turmoil surrounding President Chen and the scandals associated with his son in law, Chao Chien-ming, does not extend to society as a whole. Taiwan people continue to go about their daily life and do their jobs. He is confident that Taiwan will rise above the turmoil and solve the issues using its democratic institutions. He said the focus of his cabinet is on effective government and a stable cross-Strait relationship that will be achieved under the leadership of President Chen. Su Supports Fulbright -------------- ¶12. (C) Director Young requested Su's and FonMin Huang's support for continuing the tradition of Taiwan providing rent-free accommodations for the Fulbright Exchange program. Su immediately offered his unqualified support, relating his own experience in being invited by AIT to tour the U.S. in 1983 for 38 days. He said the program left a profound positive impression with him and he greatly values the bilateral exchange of talented young people. He immediately turned to Huang and asked him to handle this issue. ¶13. (C) The Director also thanked Su for Taiwan's support of the continued preferential tax treatment of the Taipei American School through the efforts of FonMin Huang and Council of Economic Planning and Development Chairman Dr. Hu Sheng-cheng. (Note: Taipei County has recently demanded that TAS either pay regular commercial taxes on its property in Tienmu or that the Taiwan Authorities compensate the County for lost revenue. Both MOFA and CEPD have publicly supported the current tax status of TAS. End Note.) YOUNG