MEDIA REACTION: DPP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FRANK HSIEH'S

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001649 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - BROOKE SPELLMAN DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: DPP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FRANK HSIEH'S U.S. TRIP, HSIEH'S VIEW ON TAIWAN CONSTITUTION ¶1. Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused news coverage July 21-23 on the 2008 presidential poll, on DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh's trip to the United States, on the Legislative Yuan's passage of the National Annuity Law last Friday, and on the final debut of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." The pro-unification "United Daily News" front-paged an exclusive news story July 23 with a banner headline that read "Given the U.S. Pressure, [Taiwan] University Students Will Have to Take an IPR Test." The paper also devoted more than half of its page two criticizing a Ministry of Education action plan, which requires all universities and colleges to give freshmen IPR tests before enrollment in the first year in schools. ¶2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, an analysis in the centrist, KMT-leaning "China Times" discussed Frank Hsieh's U.S. trip. The article said Hsieh will start by rebuilding trust between Taipei and Washington and will convince the United States the value and significance of the DPP's rule for the second round. An editorial in the pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" also said Hsieh "has an opportunity to build a position as a defender of regional peace and stability and can lay the base for firmer U.S.-Taiwan relations based on 'love and trust.'" An editorial in the pro-independence "Liberty Times" discussed the "One China under the Constitution" position proposed by Hsieh. The article said Hsieh's proposal is no different from the "ultimate unification" advocated by KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou, because both approaches have violated Taiwan's mainstream public opinion. End summary. ¶3. DPP Presidential Candidate Frank Hsieh's U.S. Trip A) "For His First Interview, Hsieh Will Start by Mending Trust between Taiwan and the United States" Journalist Tsai Hui-chen noted in the centrist, KMT leaning "China Times" [circulation: 400,000] (7/23): "... Since Chen Shui-bian remains as the current president, Frank Hsieh will have to accept whatever has been done and left by the ruling DPP party. Hsieh thus chose to define Taiwan-U.S. relations under the Bian reign as a 'process that the DPP, as a first-time ruling party, had to go through.' The various attempts by Chen to seek a way out for Taiwan in his own way have constantly challenged the United States' bottom line, and the results of such attempts have indeed altered the red line of Taiwan-U.S. relations. But in the meantime, they have also put Taiwan-U.S. relations in an unprecedented deteriorating and uncertain situation. Hsieh's trip this time was thus aimed at convincing the United States of the significance and value of the DPP to rule for the second time. ... "As a result, Hsieh's attitude toward his U.S. trip this time is very clear. He will not propose the 'Four Nos and One Without' pledge or any other commitments as Chen did [eight years ago] just to put Washington at ease. Instead, he will clearly state his ideas of reconciliation and co-existence and, based on such a framework, he will talk about Taiwan-centered values, Taiwan's opening and Taiwan's national security. He will also communicate with Washington about the latter's fundamental reasons in opposing Taiwan's bid to join the United Nations under the name of Taiwan. ... Hsieh will stand on the foundation of Chen's eight-year rule and convey to the United States a stable attitude and quality that are 'different from Bian's or Ma's,' a unique style of Hsieh's. ..." B) "Hsieh's Challenge on U.S. Journey" The pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" [circulation: 20,000] editorialized (7/23): "Democratic Progressive party presidential candidate Frank Hsieh is now at a crucial point in his campaign to be the next occupant of Taiwan's presidential palace in the form of his 'love and trust' visit to the United States. ... Hsieh's journey to Washington D.C. involves both opportunities and challenges to future Taiwan-U.S. relations. ... Undoubtedly, the first political hurdle concerns President Chen's decision last Thursday to directly submit an application to the United Nations for membership under the name of 'Taiwan.' ... Frankly, we neither expect nor see any reason why Hsieh should refrain from endorsing the president's move. After all, during the DPP's presidential primary, Hsieh personally recalled that the had called for Taiwan to enter the U.N. nearly two decades ago and said campaigning for Taiwan's entry into the U.N. would be 'the next step to rectify our name based on reality.' Therefore, we urge Hsieh to stick to his principles and exercise his ability to communicate directly with U.S. officials, politicians of all parties and leading thinktanks and academics to explain clearly why President Chen and the DPP government have taken this action and why it is necessary for Taiwan's international survival. "Second, Hsieh will also be asked to explain why and how he will be able to do a better job as Taiwan's head-of-state than Chen and to show what makes him a better choice than Ma, especially in terms of the values and directions of a future DPP administration under the former premier and Kaohsiung City mayor. ... Given the Bush administration's belief that Washington needs the cooperation of the People's Republic of China on issues related to the U.S. war in Iraq and the North Korean nuclear proliferation crisis, U.S. officials and many foreign policy analysts maintain that Chen should have 'exercised leadership' by not 'making trouble' for the Bush administration. We believe that such views are misleading. In our view, the Bush administration shares responsibility for the 'gap' by refusing to engage in high level direct dialogue with Taiwan's directly elected government, for its 'my way or the highway' attitude toward allies with different views on matters such as Iraq or the PRC and for its failure to fully appreciate the value of Taiwan's democracy and the necessity for its consolidation.... "On the question of relations with the PRC, Hsieh's toughest task will be to convince the Bush administration and other Washington leaders that he will be able to simultaneously use his political philosophy of seeking 'reconciliation and co-existence' and safeguard Taiwan's independence and national security. ... We also believe that Hsieh should take care to explain clearly his position that the current Republic of China Constitution is a 'one-China' constitution. Hsieh stressed during the DPP primary that this notion is not an 'advocation' but a description of an 'absurd' status quo and a call for collective effort for change, a position which is in keeping with DPP policy. ... By contrasting the PRC's intensifying belligerence and the stereotyped image of Taiwan as a 'troublemaker' with his own philosophy of 'coexistence,' Hsieh has an opportunity to build a position as a defender of regional peace and stability and can lay the base for firmer U.S.-Taiwan relations based on 'love and trust.'" ¶4. Hsieh's View on Taiwan Constitution "[Hsieh's] 'One China under the Constitution' Is No Different from [Ma's] 'Ultimate Unification'" The pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 500,000] editorialized (7/21): "'One China under the Constitution' is one of the assertions proposed by DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh. Even though such a position has aroused deep doubts from the nativist voters, Hsieh reiterated the same idea during a recent interview with the Singapore-based 'Lianhe Zaobao' - a gesture indicating his apparent attempt to explain his position to China. ... The question lies in the fact that the ROC Constitution is not related to Taiwan in any way. All Taiwan needs to do is simply to write a new constitution; why does it need the idea of 'one China under the constitution' to tie up its hands and legs? Hsieh's reiteration of the 'constitutional one China' idea instead created doubts about whether he is genuinely supportive of the name-change campaign and the writing of a new constitution, and whether he is genuinely for of the referendum on 'the island's UN bid under the name Taiwan.' Will the so-called 'one China under the Constitution' turn out to be another way of addressing the '1992 Consensus, with each side having its own interpretation of one China'? ... "The so-called 'reconciliation and co-existence' [proposed by Hsieh] naturally gives no cause for much criticism. Nonetheless, Taiwan has long since acknowledged that China is an independent sovereign state, but Beijing continues to see Taiwan as a part of China and it even enacted the 'Anti-Secession Law.' Given such circumstances, for Taiwan and China to reconcile with each other and to co-exist peacefully, China must first abolish its 'Anti-Secession Law' and acknowledge that Taiwan is also an independent sovereign state. If this is impossible, the illusion of using the 'constitutionally one China' idea to ask for China's mercy on [cross-Strait] reconciliation and co-existence will be no different from the ultimate unification advocated by Ma Ying-jeou, because both approaches have violated Taiwan's mainstream public opinion that the island is an independent sovereign state." YOUNG