TAIWAN FOUNDATION FOR DEMOCRACY PARTICIPATION AT BAMAKO

UNCLAS STATE 151150 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM TW SUBJECT: TAIWAN FOUNDATION FOR DEMOCRACY PARTICIPATION AT BAMAKO 1.This is an action request. See Para 4. 2.Department has been made aware that Government of Mali, in the lead up to the Community of Democracies (CD),Bamako conference, is likely intentionally denying invitations and visas to representatives of the NGO, Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD),as well as any individual holding a Taiwanese passport. 3.The umbrella NGO organization, the Council for a Community of Democracies (CCD),which serves as a pseudo-secretariat for the International Steering Group for the CD Non-governmental Process, provided GOM with a list of NGO representatives to be invited to attend Bamako CD. This list included three representatives from TFD: Bo Tenards (US Citizen) and Dr. Wen-cheng Lin and Dr. Tzu-pao Yang from Taiwan. All international NGO representatives were issued invitations, except for Dr. Lin and Dr. Yang. Bo Tenards, a US Passport holder, has been issued an invitation but is waiting to apply for a visa until Dr. Lin and Dr. Yang receive invitations. 4.Action Request: The Ambassador should approach host government at a senior level to request that invitations be sent and visas granted, for the TFD representatives Dr. Lin and Dr. Yang, to attend Bamako CD. ¶5. Failure to issue invitations and grant visas for TFD representatives will likely cast a shadow over the GOM and create questions regarding the legitimacy of the Bamako CD. 6.TFD has been a major financial supporter of NGO activity related to CD over the past four years. There is already speculation that the treatment of the TFD by GOM my cause TFD to pull its funding for the majority of participants it was expected to fund from Asia. Additionally, a greater defection from Bamako of civil society groups may be expected in protest to Taiwan based NGOs being granted access to CD. ¶7. Dr. Lin and Dr. Yang were denied visas en route when they sought to attend a meeting in Bamako in 2006 of the International Steering Committee. Oumar Makalou, head of the Malian non-governmental process for CD, lodged a serious protest with the Foreign Ministry and the Presidency and was allegedly told it would not happen again. BACKGROUND ¶8. Bo Tenards is Director of International Cooperation for TFD and Director of World Forum for Democratization in Asia. ¶9. Dr. Lin has been president of TFD since 2006 and currently serves as Dean of the School of Social Sciences, national Sun Yat-sen University, where he is a full professor. He currently has no position in the Taiwan government. From mid-2003 to mid-2004, he took a leave of absence from the university to serve as Senior Advisor to the Taiwan National Security Council, which is the only Government position he has ever held. ¶10. Dr. Yang is an advisor to TFD. He is also a Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Taiwan government, but at the CD he will only be participating in his TFD status. Dr. Yang is also a francophone which is why he hopes to attend this particular conference. ¶11. Each year CD has been held at ministerial level (Warsaw, 2000; Seoul, 2002; Santiago, 2005) Taiwan was represented at an NGO level. At each event Taiwanese NGO representatives respected their non-governmental status, even though many also held positions within Taiwan's government at various levels. Prior to Santiago, TFD had not yet been established and participants therefore did not have TFD affiliation. Taiwan participants at Warsaw, Seoul and Santiago are as follows: ¶12. WARSAW: 1) Ms. Myasing Yang: Current TFD vice presidents. At the time, deputy director of the Research and Planning Board of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2) Legislator Bi-khim Hsiao: Currently TFD board member. At the time, Director of International Affairs of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). 3) Ming-te Shih: Then Legislator. 4) Hsin-liang Hsu: Then Chairman of the "People Rising Foundation"; previously Chairman of the DPP. 5) King-yuh Chang: Then Chairman of the "Chinese Eurasian Education Foundation"; previously Chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council (a cabinet level post). ¶13. SEOUL: 1) Legislator Bi-khim Hsiao: Legislator at that time. 2) Edward J. Huang: Chairman of Transparency International-Taiwan, and Director of the Asia Resource Center for Democracy. 3) Vincent W.S. Yang: Assistant Director General, NGO International Affairs Committee, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ¶14. SANTIAGO: (After TFD had been established): 1) Dr. Parris Chang: TFD board member and Deputy Secretary General of the Taiwan NSC at that time. 2) Dr. Anne Hsiao: Head of TFD's International Cooperation Department. 3) Jeffrey H.S. Hsiao: Mid-ranking diplomat. 4) Dr. Michael Kau: At the time TFD president as well as Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the same position that Dr. Yang currently holds). Dr. Kau attended the final meeting of the Non-governmental Process in Santiago prior to the Ministerial Meeting. He was accompanied by Anne Hsiao, Oliver Liao (mid-ranking diplomat),and Bo Tenards. ¶15. Like Mali, all three previous host countries for CD recognize the One-China policy. ¶16. Post should direct replies and feedback to desk, with a copy to John Kachtik (G). RICE