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

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000515 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: U.S.-CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS ¶1. Summary: On March 6, the impact generated by President Chen Shui-bian's "Four Wants and One Without" remarks Sunday continued to receive considerable coverage in the Taiwan media. The pro-status quo "China Times" ran a front-page banner headline that said "Bian's Call for Taiwan Independence Has Severely Traumatized Taiwan's Stock Market." The pro-independence "Liberty Times," however, front-paged and attributed the tumble of the Taiwan stock market Monday to the fall in other Asian stock markets. The same paper also ran a banner headline on page two that read "Presidential Office: the Pursuit of Independence Does Not Violate the 'Four Nos' Pledge." ¶2. Several papers editorialized on President Chen's "Four Wants and One Without" remarks. An editorial in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" totally disregarded Chen's remarks and said he just made the announcement to pander to his independence supporters and also to satirize former President Lee Teng-hui. A "Liberty Times" commentary, however, said Chen made the remarks to highlight Taiwan's position in the new global strategic situation. A "China Times" editorial said Chen has seen through all the tricks that Washington can play with regard to his 'surprise' remarks and that the best Washington will do is to issue a statement in response to Chen's "Four Wants and One Without" remarks. A column in the pro-unification "United Daily News" said Chen tried to play various tricks by turning the "Four Nos" into "Four Wants," but actually he is holding on tightly to the basis of "maintaining the status quo." A separate "United Daily News" analysis discussed Chen's behavior pattern in dealing with the United States after he made 'surprise' remarks. An editorial in the limited-circulation, conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post" said, "[a]ccustomed to his habit of double-talk, Chen's enemies in Beijing, uneasy friends in Washington and critics at home appear unprovoked by his seeming retreat from his long-standing no-independence pledge." An editorial in the limited-circulation, pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News," on the other hand, discussed China's growing defense budget and said, "the United States itself also deserves criticism for its lack of political courage to defend international justice and uphold the interests of fellow 
democracies." End summary. A) "Earthen Crock Sounding Like Thunder - an Unworthy Man in a High Position" The mass-circulation "Apple Daily" [circulation: 520,000] editorialized (3/6): "... No one takes A-Bian's remarks seriously any more. The United States, as usual, spanked A-Bian - a move that was meant to show China. China, on the other hand, was disinclined to take those remarks seriously; as long as Washington has showed its stance, Beijing would simply toss off some tough remarks and act like a hoodlum for a while, then the whole thing would be over. It was the people in Taiwan that were panicked and confused, full of anxiety and complaints. The [reactions of] the opposition party were of course expected, but the local stock market even went so far to take A-Bian's words seriously -- it plunged together with the tumble of the global stock markets. This is really pathetic and ridiculous. "It goes without saying that, among the Four Wants, everything except 'development' - independence, name change, and a new constitution - will have to be approved by the Legislative Yuan first. Is it possible [to realize them all]? [We] have yet to mention the U.S. attitude. What is there to be afraid of with a lame-duck president who has less than a year left of his term, since even God cannot do what Chen has preached? He just made those remarks to entertain and pander to those old men at the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) and also to mock Lee Teng-hui. ..." B) "Preventing War Ranks Higher Than Preventing Independence" Strategic scholar Wang Kun-yi noted in the pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 500,000] (3/6): "... Judging from the current international situation, the resolution of the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula seemed on the surface to be the dawning of peace in East Asia, but it is in fact the start of another crisis. Washington was eager to yield to Pyongyang mainly because it was China that is really in charge of the North Korean nuclear crisis. The United States, as a result, did not want to clash with China. The field on which Washington really wants to play crisis games with China is the Taiwan Strait, because this is the place where the United States can exercise control. ... "Under such a new strategic situation and atmosphere, the fact that A-Bian tossed off the 'Four Wants and One Without' announcement was simply a move designated to highlight Taiwan's position in the new strategic layout. ..." C) "We Really Don't Feel Like Dancing to His Tune, But [We] Can Hardly Avoid It" The pro-status quo "China Times" [circulation: 400,000] editorialized (3/6): "... As for the reactions of Beijing and Washington, those are not too difficult to deal with, either. It would be better that Beijing overreacts, which will then become an excellent campaign aid for the Green camp. What about Washington? It is easy to deceive it as long as there is some artfully and sophisticatedly woven rhetoric for [Taiwan's representative to the U.S.] David Lee to say. Still remember the upheaval of 'abolition of the National Unification Council' last year? The uproar then raised tensions between Washington, Beijing and Taipei for a while, but now that that is over, no one seems to remember it. A-Bian could transit the United States as smoothly as before, and Washington also sold weapons to Taiwan as usual. Nothing has changed! A-Bian has seen through all the tricks that Washington can play; the best Washington can do is to make a statement. Over the past six years, starting from [Chen's] 'one country on either side of the Taiwan Strait' remarks, writing a new constitution, holding a referendum on buying missiles to the cessation of the functions of the National Unification Council, what else could the U.S. authorities do about Bian except to issue a statement or slightly punish him during his transits? This time, when Bian has announced the 'Four Wants and One Without,' the most Washington can do is just to issue a statement to respond to Beijing's pressure. At most, it will just reiterate Chen's 'Four Nos' pledge and add '[we'll] take it seriously', and that will be all. ..." D) "The Cheap 'Four Wants and One Without'" The "Black and White" column in the pro-unification "United Daily News" [circulation: 400,000] noted (3/6): "Chen Shui-bian cried out 'Four Wants and One Without.' Those Taiwan independence supporters will likely be disappointed if they rejoice over the fact that Chen has finally become braver and decided to walk out of the framework of the 'Four Nos and One Without.' According to the timely interpretation provided by people at the Presidential Office, the so-called '[Taiwan] wants independence' means [Taiwan] 'wants to maintain Taiwan's independence status.' Chen did not move a step forward, nor did he violate the 'Four Nos and One Without' pledge. "No one knows Chen better than Lee Teng-hui! It was completely correct when Lee said Chen can only run the country by shouting slogans, and he was perfectly right when he said Chen is afraid of the Americans; so is he right about saying that Taiwan independence is a bogus issue? Chen deliberately played tricks by turning 'Four Nos' into 'Four Wants,' but in reality, he is still holding tightly to the basis of 'maintaining the status quo.' ..." E) "Set Fire First Then Put it out Later: to Contest with Lee, Bian Does Short Trading and Tries to Boost His Accomplishments" Journalist Huang Ya-shih wrote in an analysis in the pro-unification "United Daily News" [circulation: 400,000] (3/6): "... Ever since President Chen came to power, he has usually tossed off significant remarks on major holidays or at gatherings with pro-independence supporters in a 'surprise' way to challenge the United States' bottom line for cross-Strait policy. But what Chen normally would do in the past was to wait for a 'brewing period' after he made the remarks; he would 'stay unmoved' for a while, regardless of the turmoil inside and outside Taiwan, be it protests from the United States or pressure from China, and regardless of the tumble in the local stock market. Then he would seek to modify or justify his remarks at occasions when he met with foreign guests. "The price for Chen's 'act first and report afterwards' pattern was that he had to swallow and tolerate the increasingly severe public statements coming from the United States. But as long as he could survive and try to explain to Washington privately via national security or diplomatic channels, and consequently wait until the United States had no alternative but to 'accept' his remarks, it would be a 'big achievement' for him. The combination of a referendum and the presidential elections in 2004 was a typical example. Until now, Bian has often complained to his independence supporters about how 'unimaginable' the U.S. pressure was then and how he had 'endured and suffered all disgrace and insults' to create an unprecedented history for holding Taiwan's first-ever referendum. ..." F) "Chen Revoking His Pledges?" The conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post" [circulation: 30,000] editorialized (3/6): "President Chen Shui-bian, whose time in office ends in May next year, again has used strong pro-independence rhetoric to provoke China and the U.S. to shore up his fundamentalist base ahead of the December legislative elections. ... The 'four wants and one no' remark was in sharp contrast to his famous 'four noes and one not' pledge of no Taiwan independence. Accustomed to his habit of double-talk, Chen's enemies in Beijing, uneasy friends in Washington and critics at home appear unprovoked by his seemingly retreat from his long-standing no-independence pledge. The U.S. has made no comment yet. Beijing responded with a caution for the media: 'Don't listen to local leaders.' So electioneering slogans are lies." G) "Heed the Warning in PRC War Budget" The pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" [circulation: 20,000] editorialized (3/6): "The announcement by People's Republic of China Premier Wen Jaibao that Beijing will hike its military budget by another 17.8 percent this year to over 350 billion yuan and the PRC's stiff warning to the United States not to sell arms to Taiwan constitute grave warnings of 'clear and present' threats to our national security that must receive the full attention of our governing and opposition parties as well as Washington. ... The pan-KMT camp's drive to delay passage of the procurement of P-3C Orion anti-submarine aircraft, Patriot III-C anti-missile missiles and a few conventional submarines achieves their strategic goal of constructing a tacit alliance with the PRC's ruling Chinese Communist Party for the sake of ending the democratic control of Taiwan by the Taiwan people. "However, the United States itself also deserves criticism for its lack of political courage to defend international justice and uphold the interests of fellow democracies. Under the 'unilateralist' rightist Republican Party administration of President George W. Bush and its obsessive 'war on terrorism,' Washington has striven to enhance cooperation with the authoritarian PRC in a futile effort to use Beijing to 'constrain' the even more dictatorial North Korea regime or curb China's ballooning trade surplus with the U.S., regardless of the resultant sacrifice of Taiwan's legitimate interests. As a result, the U.S. is losing credibility in the region. A survey conducting by the private Institute of National Policy Research last March showed that 27.1 percent of the correspondents had good feelings toward Japan, Taiwan's former colonial ruler, compared to 22.7 percent who had good feelings about the U.S., the touted leader of the world democratic camp." YOUNG