VICE PRESIDENT ANNETTE LU ON UPCOMING U.S. TRANSIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 001423

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/22/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV TW
SUBJECT: VICE PRESIDENT ANNETTE LU ON UPCOMING U.S. TRANSIT
AND TAIWAN DEMOCRACY FORUM IN AUGUST


Classified By: AIT Director Stephen M. Young, Reason 1.4 (b/d)


1. (C) Summary: Vice President Annette Lu told the
Director on June 21 that she appreciates Washington's
assistance in arranging a transit through the West Coast on
her way to and from Latin AMERICA in early July. Lu said she
would be visiting Paraguay for the 50th anniversary of
Taiwan-Paraguay diplomatic relations and would also make
stops in the Dominican Republic and Guatemala. Lu said she
would accept "any arrangements" that the U.S. made for her
transit. Lu, who requested the meeting, expressed hope that
Washington could encourage one or two U.S. Congress members
to attend the Taipei meeting of the Democratic Pacific Union
(DPU) in mid-August. Lu also urged Washington to pay greater
attention to China's "soft power" threat to Taiwan. End
Summary.


2. (C) Vice President Annette Lu (Hsiu-lien) told the
Director on June 21 that she appreciates Washington's
assistance in arranging a transit through the West Coast on
her way to and from Latin AMERICA in early July. Lu said she
would be visiting Paraguay for the 50th anniversary of
Taiwan-Paraguay relations and would make stops in the
Dominican Republic and Guatemala. Lu stressed that she
accepted the U.S. offer and would accept any specific
arrangements the U.S. made for her transit. Lu said she
wants to keep her stopover in the U.S. low-key and prefers
not to "make it into an issue." Lu noted she would be
accompanied by 4-5 Legislative Yuan (LY) members, a county
magistrate and a city mayor, two national university
presidents, and possibly a few journalists if they are
willing to pay their own way.


3. (C) Lu, who requested the meeting, asked for
Washington's assistance in encouraging one or two U.S.
Congress members to attend the mid-August meeting in Taipei
of the Democratic Pacific Union (DPU),an organization she
heads that was established in 2005 to promote parliamentarian
and other exchanges between democratic countries in the
Pacific. Lu said she had worked through TECRO-Washington to
extend invitations to Members of Congress, but TECRO has
reported they have been unable thus far to secure any
positive responses. Lu noted that Congressmen Charles Rangel
and Tom Lantos have been very supportive of the DPU in the
past but are unable to attend this meeting. She is hoping
that legislators, educators, and NGO leaders from the 31
countries that have participated in DPU meetings over the
past two years will gather in Taipei on August 13-15 to
discuss regional security after the Beijing Olympics, global
warming, and e-governance. Lu stressed that she highly
values U.S. participation in the DPU and expressed hope that
Washington would be able to encourage some Members of
Congress to attend. The Director made no commitment but said
he would convey her request to Washington. He also explained
that Members' schedules for August would likely already be
filled at this point.


4. (C) Avoiding polemics over recent U.S. statements on
Taiwan's proposed UN referendum, Lu urged Washington to be
aware that China's "soft power" poses a growing threat to
Taiwan and the status quo. The PRC has pursued a quiet but
successful campaign to woo the Taiwan public through a
combination of people-to-people exchanges, appeals to shared
religious connections like worship of the Matzu goddess, and
playing on historical cross-Strait kinship and clan ties. Lu
cited the PRC's sending of a famous Matzu statue to visit
various temples in Taiwan and projects in the PRC to work
together with Taiwan counterparts to compile clan
genealogies, activities intended to emphasize Taiwan's
connection to China. Lu argued that this united front
strategy was a "greater threat" to Taiwan's security and the
status quo than the PLA military build-up.

Comment
--------------


5. (C) Vice President Lu was unusually subdued during this
meeting, refraining from the recriminatory exchanges we have
experienced in some previous sessions with her. In

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particular, she avoided criticizing the U.S. for our public
opposition to the UN referendum when we gently touched on the
issue. Rather, she launched into her exposition on the PRC
"soft power" threat to Taiwan. Lu seemingly wants U.S. help
on her DPU, and also may well have been told by President
Chen to avoid making waves on her upcoming transit since he
hopes to have his own transit in August.
YOUNG