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 TAIPEI 00001423 002 OF 002 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