MEDIA REACTION: CROSS-STRAIT RELATIONS

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000148 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - LLOYD NEIGHBORS DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: CROSS-STRAIT RELATIONS Summary: As the debt-ridden Rebar Asia Pacific Group continued to stay in the Taiwan media's spotlight, news coverage on January 19 also focused on the Legislative Yuan's approval of President Chen Shui-bian's nomination of Chen Tsung-ming as the new State Public Prosecutor-General Thursday, and on the trial hearing of the Presidential Office Allowance for State Affairs case today. Major Chinese-language dailies editorialized either on the confirmation of Taiwan's top prosecutor or the Rebar Asia Pacific Group case. Editorials of two English-language papers, however, discussed the Executive Yuan's recent move to designate the Sakizaya tribe as Taiwan's 13th indigenous aboriginal tribe. An editorial in the limited-circulation, pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" said Beijing should learn from the Sakizaya case and respect the Taiwan people's pursuit of self-determination. The editorial in the limited-circulation, conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post," however, argued that Premier Su Tseng-chang should not link the controversial policy of "name SIPDIS rectification" to the noble efforts by aborigines to preserve their status and culture. End summary. A) "What Taiwan's Amis Can Teach China" The pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" [circulation: 20,000] editorialized (1/19): "The decision by the Democratic Progressive Party Cabinet Wednesday to ratify the designation of the Sakizaya tribe as Taiwan's 13th distinct indigenous people is an event that affects far more than the estimated 10,000 persons, mostly in eastern Hualien County, that make up our newest internal nation. ... [A]s observed by Premier Su Tseng-chang, the Sakizaya identity movement has succeeded 'a step SIPDIS ahead' of Taiwan and should provide inspiration that 'Taiwan's effort to rectify its own name needs to continue.' Certainly, if the Sakizaya people can recover their own identity, there is certainly no reason for 23 million people of Taiwan to cease promoting our own identity movement out of a sense of defeatism. ... "Although the PRC has never ruled Taiwan for even one day and Taiwan is certainly not integrated into the PRC's community as the Sakizaya were with the Amis people, Beijing's leadership has not only failed to offer any genuine goodwill or generosity, but has proclaimed to the world its insistence that it has the right to use force to compel Taiwan to 'unify' with the PRC regardless of the fact that Taiwan is already a self-governing independent state and regardless of whether the people of Taiwan have the desire to unify with China's 1.3 billion people under the PRC authoritarian state. ... We hope that the Beijing leadership will eventually learn similar wisdom and apply it in their relations with Taiwan and their own people so that generosity, respect for pluralism and even mutual solidarity can prevent tragedy." B) "More Name Games" The conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post" [circulation: 30,000] editorialized (1/19): "... During his remarks, Premier Su said that just like the 10,000-or-so Sakizaya, who have sought for years to be recognized as their own distinct tribe, Taiwan would also continue working to 'rectify' its name and status. This marked the first time that Premier Su has publicly embraced the controversial policy of 'rectification' which requires the government to replace references to China and things Chinese in the names of government organizations, state companies and projects whenever the opportunity arises. ... "However, we object to Premier Su's linking the controversial policy of 'name rectification' to the noble efforts by aboriginals to preserve their status and culture. We do not see how changing the names of organizations ranging from Chinese Petroleum to the post office and China Airlines is going to make things better for people in Taiwan. We think politicians of all stripes should be doing more to provide substantial assistance to aborigines, such as giving more budget money to promote aboriginal culture, housing and education, rather than making them props in the ongoing debate among groups of Han Chinese." YOUNG