MEDIA REACTION: TAIWAN'S NAME CHANGE CAMPAIGN, U.S. ARMS

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000323 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: TAIWAN'S NAME CHANGE CAMPAIGN, U.S. ARMS PROCUREMENT ¶1. Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused their coverage February 9 on KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou, who told the press Thursday that he will resign if indicted for the mayoral allowance case during his tenure as Taipei mayor; on the DPP government's name change campaign, and on other political issues. The pro-status quo "China Times" ran an exclusive front-page headline that read "Chinese to Announce before Lunar New Year: Ban on Chinese People Visiting Taiwan to be Lifted April 1." In terms of editorials and commentaries, an editorial in the pro-independence "Liberty Times," Taiwan's largest-circulation daily, discussed the DPP government's name-change campaign and said that only by doing so can Taiwan be transformed into a normal country. An op-ed piece in the limited-circulation, pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times," on the other hand, discussed U.S. arms procurement. The article said "(t)he recent failures to pass a defense budget in the legislature make it all the more difficult for even the most ardent friends and supporters of Taiwan's democracy and continued progress to respond in the affirmative." End summary. ¶2. Taiwan's Name Change Campaign "Democratic County Must Not Worship Symbols Representing an Authoritarian Regime" The pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 550,000] editorialized (2/9): "... The DPP government has been proactively pushing the campaign to revise history textbooks for high school students, to change the names of the Chinese Petroleum Corporation and other relevant [state-run] enterprises, to remove statues of [Generalissimo] Chiang Kai-shek [from military premises around the island], and to eliminate military guards and MPs stationed at Chiang's mausoleum. This campaign in fact has the double significance of 'eliminating the authoritarian legacy' and 'eliminating the legacy of an alien regime.' The DPP's big moves have naturally triggered a strong backlash from the Blue camp, but only by thoroughly 'getting rid of the authoritarian legacy' and 'getting rid of the legacy of an alien regime' can Taiwan become a truly democratic country. ... "Following the transfer of political power in 2000, the first nativist regime was established in Taiwan. Even though [this development] confirmed the fact of Taiwan's independent sovereignty, Taiwan is not yet a normal country. Thus, the rectification of Taiwan's name, writing a new constitution for Taiwan, and moves to 'get rid of the authoritarian legacy' and 'get rid of the legacy of an alien regime' have become necessary steps to transform [Taiwan] into a normal country. Among these steps, the goal to rectify Taiwan's name and write a new constitution are not easy to achieve without long-term efforts, due to limitations from the outside environment. As for 'getting rid of the authoritarian legacy' and 'getting rid of the legacy of an alien regime,' there has not been too much obstruction. The DPP administration should have started to do so immediately after it came to power, and it is lamentable that it did not start proactively to push the campaign until President Chen was about to conclude his second term. ..." ¶3. U.S. Arms Procurements "Neglecting Defense Budget a Folly" Kurt Campbell, CEO of the Center for a New American Security in Washington, opined in the pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" [circulation: 30,000] (2/9): "... Washington now expects a certain self-sufficiency among its allies and friends in the region, and behind the diplomatic niceties there is a growing dissatisfaction and impatience in Washington about the lack of progress in the defense arena in Taiwan. This alienation will likely grow as the defense effort continues to stall. Finally, the US presidential sweepstakes is already in full swing, and a new generation of candidates and their advisors must again be apprised of the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the western Pacific. "However, given pressing realities elsewhere and the changing power dynamics in the region, this tutorial in both Democratic and Republican circles is taking on new difficulties and complexities. Asian advisors to aspiring politicos from both sides of the aisle now dread answering the inevitable question that crops up during preparatory sessions on the region, namely, 'why should the US be so concerned about providing security to a place that seems ambivalent at best about its own defense?' The recent failures to pass a defense budget in the legislature make it all the more difficult for even the most ardent friends and supporters of Taiwan's democracy and continued progress to respond in the affirmative." YOUNG