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

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 002574 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 December 6 on the clashes at the Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall (formerly known as the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall) Wednesday over whether the inscription, which contains characters associated with Chiang Kai-shek, should be removed from the plaque on the entrance gate. The centrist, KMT-leaning "China Times," however, ran an exclusive news story on page six with the headline "U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State is to Hold a Press Conference for Taiwan [Media] Thursday Evening." ¶2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, an editorial in the pro-independence "Liberty Times" commented on AIT Taipei Director Stephen Young's speech delivered at a seminar hosted by the Foundation on International and Cross-Strait Studies Monday. The article said the United States should not simply demand that Taiwan engage in a dialogue with China that is equivalent to surrender. An op-ed in the pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times," written by Michael Cole, a writer based in Taipei, discussed China's recent refusal of a port call in Hong Kong by USS Kitty Hawk. The article said Beijing's decision to snub the United States was "a calculated effort taken by an increasingly confident China to divide and conquer." End summary. A) "The United States Should Not Unilaterally Demand That Taiwan Accept a Dialogue [with China] That is Equivalent to Surrender" The pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 720,000] editorialized (12/6): "... Ever since President Chen started to promote the UN referendum, several times the U.S. government has arranged to have its officials deliver remarks expressing their disagreement with such a referendum. Thus, [AIT Director] Stephen Young's [recent] speech regarding [Washington's] opposition to Taiwan's holding of a 'UN referendum' and its hope that the new Taiwan president will resume dialogue with Beijing seemed not an unusual address; instead, it represented the U.S. government's recent position. President Chen Shui-bian's response, on the other hand, was not meant to give tit for tat but simply to state the fact and Taiwan's mainstream public view, in an attempt to make the U.S. government understand that the latter's position toward the UN referendum is a bias. He also intended to remind [Washington] that its expectations for China were a delusion. The peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait should naturally be built on interactions between Taiwan and China on an equal footing. But the U.S. government seems to be tilting toward China because of its opposition to Taiwan's UN referendum. Washington's original intent was perhaps to stabilize and put order to the Taiwan Strait. But instead, what it did may send a wrong hint to China, which, as a result, might take risks in desperation and might cause a tragedy of cross-Strait conflicts. Surely we believe that the U.S. government will not be happy to see such a consequence. ... "In other words, for the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to engage in a dialogue, it does not matter who is elected president of Taiwan; what really matters is whether the new president will accept the one-China principle and acknowledge that Taiwan is part of the People's Republic of China. For any Taiwan political figure who accepts such a condition, it will be akin to handing out a letter of surrender to China. Any candidate who is bold enough to make such a proposal during his campaigns surely will be rejected with scorn by the voters, and the chances will be slim for him to be elected. Even if he does not show his true face until after being elected, he will be recalled by the public if he accepts the one China principle and sells out Taiwan. In this vein, it will be Young's wishful thinking if he expects that the two presidential candidates in the Blue and Green camps, respectively, will resume dialogue with China. What the United States should strive for is to urge China to give up its one-China principle, which Beijing sees as the premise for both sides to resume talks, and to engage in negotiations with Taiwan unconditionally, so that both sides can get along with each other peacefully. "Given that China refused to allow the USS Kitty Hawk and other naval vessels to dock in Hong Kong, so that the military officers and soldiers serving on the vessels could spend the Thanksgiving holiday with their families, the United States should be able to feel deeply that even though China's national power is growing, it remains yet to be a civilized country. Its barbarian and violent behavior and ideology are the potential threats to the stability and order in the international community. Therefore, the United States must not unilaterally demand that Taiwan accept a dialogue [with China] in the style of surrender. Only when both sides across the Strait show respect to each other and stand on an equal footing can a dialogue become meaningful and bring true peace for the Asia-Pacific region." B) "The Method in Beijing's Madness" ¶J. Michael Cole, a writer based in Taipei, opined in the pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" (12/6): "A tremendous amount of ink has been spilled in the past week over Beijing's 'surprise' about-face last month, when it denied the USS Kitty Hawk battle group entry into Hong Kong -- a snub made all the more unpalatable to Washington as it followed on the heels of a similar denial concerning two US minesweeping vessels. ... "Therein lies the new regional context, one where Japan and the US, longtime allies, are on the brink of reaching a new low on the military and diplomatic front. This has provided Beijing with a golden opportunity to drive a wedge between Tokyo and Washington at a time when the US is locked down in the Middle East, facing military overstretch and being pressured in both Japan and South Korea to lighten its military presence, and when the North Korean nuclear crisis is showing signs it could be resolved diplomatically. ... "However 'contradictory,' irrational or childish Beijing's message may have been surrounding the Kitty Hawk incident, its decision to snub the US was anything but. It was, rather, a calculated effort taken by an increasingly confident China to divide and conquer, and taken straight out of the handbook on diplomatic realism. ..." YOUNG