MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001891 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - NIDA EMMONS DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS ¶1. Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused news coverage August 18-20 on Typhoon Sepat, which hit Taiwan Saturday morning and caused severe damage to Taiwan's agriculture; on the Taiwan government's controversial decision on the use of ractopamine in pork; on the 2008 Taiwan presidential election; and on the U.S. sub-prime lending crisis and its impact on Taiwan's stock market. ¶2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, an editorial in the pro-independence "Liberty Times" discussed the calls for signing a free trade agreement (FTA) between the United States and Taiwan. The article criticized the U.S. executive branch and its officials stationed in Taiwan for bowing to China's pressure regarding Taiwan's UN referendum and failing to act proactively to push for the signing of the U.S.-Taiwan FTA. The "Liberty Talk" column in the "Liberty Times" also implicitly criticized AIT Director Stephen Young for apologizing for the sub-prime lending crisis only, but not for the U.S. opposition to Taiwan's holding a UN referendum nor for Washington's decision to allow President Chen Shui-bian to transit in Alaska only [Note: the "apology" for the sub-prime lending crisis was not a part of the Director's 8/16 speech to which the newspaper attributed the "apology."] An editorial in the pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" discussed former U.S. ambassador to the UN John Bolton's recent trip to Taiwan, in which he voiced his strong support for Taiwan's UN bid. An editorial in the conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post" also discussed President Chen Shui-bian's upcoming transit stops in Alaska to and from Central America. The article said Washington's decision to allow Chen to stop over in Anchorage only was aimed at expressing the U.S. frustration with Chen's "insistence on changing the status quo in the Taiwan Strait." End summary. A) "Respond Proactively to the Calls for Liberalization of Taiwan-U.S. Trade and Economics" The pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 720,000] editorialized (8/20): "Almost on the same day, voices were heard in both the United States and Taiwan calling for the two countries to sign a free trade agreement (FTA). Despite the fact that the U.S. government has yet to make an official response regarding this issue, the efforts to push for economic liberalization, including the signing of FTAs with the island's trade partners, remains an important subject for Taiwan in its pursuit of economic prosperity. ... Heritage Foundation senior research fellow John Tkacik, Jr., however, holds a different view from that of the U.S. officials in Taiwan. He said in an article published on August 15 the U.S.-Taiwan FTA has been stalled for too long and that for its own interests, the United States should sign an FTA with Taiwan as early as possible. ... "Discourses and analyses similar to that of Tkacik could also be found in the U.S. private sector over the past few years, and the U.S. Congress has also voiced support for the realization of the FTA. But the fact that the U.S. executive branch and AIT have not been acting proactively enough, plus China's obstruction, have resulted in stagnation on the signing of a U.S.-Taiwan FTA. [An FTA] is an important objective that the office in charge of Taiwan's trade talks should strive to achieve. In fact, the U.S. executive branch has bowed to China's pressure with regard to political issues such as Taiwan's holding a referendum on its UN bid, opposing the Taiwan people's expression of their free will. All the more, it has become an accomplice encouraging the international community to impose political apartheid on Taiwan. Officials in the U.S. executive branch, including those stationed in Taiwan, advocate that Taiwan expand economic opening to China. They have overlooked the fact that Taiwan's economics and trade have been seriously tilted toward China, and they have disregarded China's obvious scheme to annex Taiwan. The Taiwan people cannot help but wonder whether the United States has ever practiced what it preaches when it said it wants to promote freedom and democracy to the world. ..." B) "Is Stephen Young's Apology Enough?" The "Liberty Talk" column in the pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 720,000] stated (8/20): "AIT Taipei Director Stephen Young recently apologized to Taiwan - not for the U.S. opposition to Taiwan's holding a UN referendum, nor for [Washington's] decision to allow President Chen Shui-bian to transit in Alaska only, a move which has 'indirectly humiliated the dignity of all the Taiwan people' - but for the sub-prime lending crisis in the United States, which has resulted in a plunge of the Taiwan stock price index, causing severe losses for the Taiwan stock holders. ... "If this [sub-prime lending crisis] is simply a natural phenomenon of capitalism, it would not seem necessary for Young to apologize. But Young knows very clearly that it is not a natural disaster, but a man-made crisis created by the Americans. ... As a result, when the Americans cannot afford to pay for their sub-prime loans, those who cannot sleep at night are not the American bankers or Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke but the investment companies and stock holders of other countries. ... Young said he was sorry, but can that make up for the losses of the Taiwan people?" C) "When China Is Taiwan's Friend" The pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" [circulation: 30,000] editorialized (8/18): "The trip to Taiwan by former U.S. ambassador to the UN John Bolton shows there are at least a few people in the upper tiers of Washington who are prepared to speak in support of Taiwan and to act on their words by visiting and affording respect to the office of Taiwanese president. So, more strength to him and those like him. But Bolton knows, as much as any informed friend or foe of Taiwan, that Taiwan's bid to join the UN is about the performance, not the result. When conclusions are foregone, sometimes there is hay to be made from the ritual of failure. Regrettably, all too often this hay is left in the barn, so to speak, by diplomats who simply do not know how to communicate with Washington's jumpier officials. ... "... China has threatened to introduce a motion to the UN to affirm that Taiwan is a province of the People's Republic of China, an action that would be as strategically inept as any that Beijing has come up with in recent years. And this come just as many begin to wake up to Beijing's attitude toward the rest of the world: If you have what we want, then we can be friends; if you dare cast light on our atrocities and neglect, then we can not. If Beijing is stupid enough to up-end the 'status quo' that pro-China forces in the US use to keep Taiwan in line, it will find little joy. ... China's problem lies in the majority that remains. Most countries have been happy to follow along with China's blustering and demagoguery because most of it has seemed to be hot air. Humor Beijing a little and keeps things calm, so the reasoning goes, and economic benefits will be there for everyone. "But in demanding that this pragmatism turn into support for a symbolic statement that would authorize Chinese violence, Beijing will likely discover that many countries - possibly most - will be less tolerant. The result: a humiliating majority of abstentions and a number of 'no' votes sprinkled among them, and a severe blow to the credibility of China's claim to Taiwan both at home and abroad. Advocates of Taiwanese independence must be salivating at the thought of it: an international repudiation of Beijing's imperial agenda sparked by China's own stupidity. Some in China must realize that there is this risk, and the whole affair may quietly disappear. But it remains tempting to say to China, and to its UN cheer squad: Bring it on, you oafs. Do your worst." D) "Chen Makes Another Voyage" The conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post" [circulation: 30,000] editorialized (8/20): " ... However, the U.S. government has been careful to choose the places where Taiwan leaders may transit, and the place chosen for the transit stops has been interpreted to reflect the current state of ties between Taipei and Washington. At present, it appears that Alaska has been chosen to express Washington's frustration with President Chen's insistence on changing the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. Despite repeated protests and warnings from Washington, President Chen has pressed on with his plan to hold a referendum on our government's efforts to rejoin the United Nations under the name 'Taiwan.' It is clear that Washington is displeased with this policy and is making Chen stop in a faraway place in order to demonstrate its displeasure. "By refusing to get off his aircraft, President Chen is trying to make the same kind of protest that [former] President Lee made many years ago. However, unlike President Lee's actions more than a decade ago, we believe President Chen's protest is likely to fall on deaf ears in Washington. After all, the U.S. government is no longer refusing to let Taiwan's democratically elected leader transit in American territory. Instead, Washington is merely retaliating against President Chen for his repeated efforts to break down the status quo in a highly sensitive region of the world. ... Unlike in the past, when U.S. public opinion was deeply impressed by our democracy, these days our American friends are likely to say 'suit yourself' when President Chen refuses to step out of his plane." YOUNG