DPP TONES DOWN CONTENT OF "NORMAL COUNTRY"

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 001971 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/15/2032 TAGS: PGOV TW SUBJECT: DPP TONES DOWN CONTENT OF "NORMAL COUNTRY" RESOLUTION REF: TAIPEI 1956 Classified By: AIT Acting Director Robert S. Wang, Reason 1.4 (b/d) ¶1. (C) Summary: On August 27 the DPP completed a final draft of the "normal country" resolution that moderated some of the more controversial sovereignty and independence-related language contained in an earlier version put forward by DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun. The resulting draft, portrayed in local media as a compromise between the Yu-backed draft and an alternative introduced by supporters of DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh, will be considered by the DPP's Central Executive Committee on August 30. If passed and later ratified at the DPP party congress on September 30, the normal country resolution, along with the 1986 plank on Taiwan independence and the 1999 resolution on Taiwan's future, will become a party policy document stating basic DPP principles on Taiwan's future. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) On August 27 the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) completed a final draft of the "normal country" resolution that moderated some of the more controversial sovereignty and independence-related language contained in an earlier version put forward by DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun. Party leaders met into the early evening to hammer out differences between the Yu-backed draft and an alternative introduced by supporters of DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (Chang-ting). The resulting draft has been portrayed in local media as a compromise between the two earlier versions. The final draft will be considered by the DPP's Central Executive Committee on August 30 and, if passed as is widely expected, will be put on the agenda for the DPP party congress to ratify in late September. ¶3. (SBU) The approved draft resolution retains the assertion that Taiwan is a sovereign, independent country and does not share overlapping jurisdiction or governance with China. It calls for actively promoting "name rectification, constitutional reform, and entry into the UN." It delineates five areas where Taiwan's development as a "normal country" has been restricted: 1) international relations; 2) constitutional and governance structure; 3) national identity; 4) social justice; and 5) inter-party competition. ¶4. (SBU) The resolution then makes five corresponding proposals to put Taiwan on a course toward "normalization:" (1) Enhance Taiwan self-awareness, deepen democracy, and strengthen Taiwan identity by completing name rectification and constitutional reform at an "early date;" Hold a national referendum at the appropriate time to highlight that Taiwan is a sovereign, independent country. (2) Use "Taiwan" to enter the UN, WHO, and other international organizations because of the difficulty of using the national title of "Republic of China" in the international community. (3) Strengthen Taiwan and local identity by actively promoting native culture and language and "Taiwanizing" school curricula. (4) Develop the economy on the basis of promoting national security, social justice, and long-term development. (5) Promote transitional justice to eradicate the remnants of authoritarian rule and the unequal distribution of resources, including recovering the assets from the KMT. ¶5. (SBU) The proposed resolution eliminates language from the Yu-proposed resolution that made more explicit calls to push sovereignty-related issues. Yu's version, for example, called for changing the national title from ROC to "Taiwan," defining the national territory as "Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu," removing references to "one China" in the constitution, and codifying the "two states theory" by referring to China and Taiwan as "equal and sovereign states." The compromise version proposed on August 27 makes no such explicit references. TAIPEI 00001971 002 OF 002 ¶6. (SBU) After the meeting, DPP legislator Tsai Trong, a co-drafter of the Yu-backed version, said the revisions were acceptable to "pro-independence" supporters. Frank Hsieh did not publicly express his opinion of the proposed resolution, but said he would support it as long as Chairman Yu agreed with the revised content. Other DPP legislators characterized the resolution as "mild and persuasive," and suggested the revised content would help drum up more support for the DPP in the coming elections. Lee Chun-yi, a legislator from Hsieh's camp, said the resolution was more "progressive" than the party plank on Taiwan independence and the 1999 resolution on Taiwan's future. ¶7. (SBU) The opposition-led KMT has criticized the resolution as an "election gimmick" designed to help win the legislative and presidential elections in early 2008. KMT legislative caucus deputy whip Kuo Shu-chun said the DPP resolution shows no fresh ideas for dealing with cross-Strait relations and only aims to create DOMESTIC political tensions ahead of the elections. Kuo and other KMT legislators singled out in particular the clauses on the KMT party assets, saying the resolution was aimed at "destroying" the KMT. More cynical local commentators painted the resolution as a DPP ploy to divert attention from the DPP's poor governance record and corruption scandals involving President Chen's family and former officials who worked for Frank Hsieh in Kaohsiung. Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) After winning the party nomination for president in May and getting former Premier Su Tseng-chang to accept the vice-presidential slot, Hsieh and his supporters have been hard at work to tone down the pro-independence rhetoric of the Yu-backed "normal country" resolution. If the final resolution is approved intact by the DPP CEC later this week, Hsieh will have proven successful in containing some of the deep Green rhetoric while putting forward a resolution that could appeal more to mainstream voters. President Chen's decision to back a resolution with revised language (Reftel) no doubt also helped the more moderate voices within the party prevail. If passed and later ratified at the DPP party congress on September 30, the normal country resolution, along with the 1986 plank on Taiwan independence and the 1999 resolution on Taiwan's future, will become a party policy document stating basic DPP principles on Taiwan's future. Like the previous documents, however, this "normal country" resolution only provides general goals and principles that do not bind party candidates to specific policy measures. WANG