TAIWAN UPBEAT ON LATEST UN BID

C O N F I D E N T I A L TAIPEI 002784

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/16/2031
TAGS: PREL UN UNSC UNGA TW
SUBJECT: TAIWAN UPBEAT ON LATEST UN BID

REF: A. TAIPEI 132517


B. LEE-SCHRAGE LETTER 4 AUGUST 2006

Classified By: AIT Director Stephen M. Young, Reason 1.4 (b/d)


1. (C) Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director-General for
International Relations John Chen told AIT on August 14 that
Taiwan's latest overtures to the UNGA this year involve bids
to gain "recognition" of Taiwan by the UN and to urge UN
involvement in maintaining peace in the East Asia region.
Chen acknowledged that the PRC would ultimately stifle the
two draft resolutions that Taiwan's allies plan to introduce
at the next meeting of UNGA, but insisted on characterizing
the two resolutions as a "step forward" from previous
proposals. He stressed that while maintaining the "Republic
of China" designation initially, this year's proposal on
participation refers to "Taiwan" throughout the rest of the
text. Chen insisted the shift to using "Taiwan" was not
"ideologically" driven, but done with the intent to present a
clear picture of what the "ROC" represents and to make
"Taiwan" more conspicuous. (Note: Director-General Chen made
these comments in the course of AIT's presentation of the
talking points in Ref A. End Note.)


2. (C) Director-General Chen continued by noting that this
time around Taiwan was not actually applying for "membership"
per se but rather for UN "recognition" of the fact that the
ROC has sovereignty over the territory of Taiwan and its
outlying islands. This, too, he portrayed as a new tactic,
but one which he admitted still has membership as its
ultimate aim. Chen also highlighted the change in the second
proposal for maintaining peace and security in the East Asia
region vice in the Taiwan Strait as in previous years.
Arguing that this would be more widely accepted, Chen urged
the US to support the "peace proposal," but he did
acknowledge that the proposal's focus on the PRC military
buildup across the Taiwan strait would intensify PRC
objections to the measure.


3. (C) Director-General Chen told AIT that MOFA is reviewing
other measures it could bring forward in the UN this year or
next, such as submitting an application for membership
directly to the UN Secretary General. He explained that such
a proposal, which MOFA is currently studying, would entail a
letter from President Chen Shui-bian directly to UNSG Kofi
Annan. (Note: This would apparently be in addition to the
current proposal put forward by Taiwan's formal diplomatic
allies for "recognition" conveyed by TECRO-Washington to
AIT-Washington on August 4 (Ref B) and publicly announced on
August 11. End Note.)


4. (C) MOFA Section Chief for UN Affairs Bob Chen (Lung-chin)
told AIT in a separate discussion that MOFA officials have
been under great pressure from President Chen Shui-bian's
administration to push bolder, more radical initiatives in
the UN. He characterized the August 11 proposal as "more
moderate" than other actions MOFA had debated undertaking.


5. (C) Comment. Section Chief Bob Chen may have been
referring to proposals to drop "Republic of China" completely
from this year's UN draft resolution and to use only
"Taiwan," a move that would have agitated Beijing more than
the yearly Taiwan UN bid ritual and could have been read by
Beijing as crossing a "red line" toward independence. Local
media and some AIT contacts from the pan-Green camp had told
AIT last week that an embattled President Chen was
contemplating such a move in an effort to shore up his
deep-Green base. In a speech on August 12, President Chen
himself publicly suggested that Taiwan should apply to join
the UN directly under the name of "Taiwan," calling for a
"serious" review of current policies and suggesting the
administration would continue to pressure MOFA officials to
push the envelope on Taiwan's accession to the UN. End
Comment.
YOUNG