AIT EXPRESSES U.S. CONCERNS BEFORE PRESIDENT

S E C R E T TAIPEI 002123 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/17/2032 TAGS: PREL PGOV CH TW SUBJECT: AIT EXPRESSES U.S. CONCERNS BEFORE PRESIDENT CHEN'S SEPTEMBER 15 KAOHSIUNG SPEECH REF: A. BEIJING 06044 ¶B. HUSKEY TO HART E-MAIL 9/15/2007 Classified By: AIT Director Stephen M. Young. Reason(s): 1.4 (B/D) ¶1. (S) In response to Ref A and after coordination with the Department, AIT Acting Director Robert Wang separately called Vice Premier Chiou I-Jen and NSC Secretary-General Mark Chen on Saturday morning, Sept 15, to inquire whether there would be any "surprises" in President Chen Shui-bian's speech at the rally that night in Kaohsiung in support of the DPP's referendum on applying for UN membership as "Taiwan." ADIR emphasized that Washington had expressed concern over the speech. ¶2. (S) Chiou I-jen and Mark Chen both unequivocally and repeatedly told ADIR that (they believed) there would be "no surprises." Both insisted President Chen would not make any new statements "beyond what he has said before." Chiou told ADIR that surprises were "not possible," explaining that he had earlier met with the President to discuss the UN referendum issue, DAS Christensen's speech last week at the U.S.-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference, and the September 15 Kaohsiung rally. Chiou insisted that President Chen understands U.S. concerns and that the U.S. should not worry about the speech. Both men separately made the point that President Chen and Taiwan leaders all realize the U.S. is "still Taiwan's best friend" and that recent comments were "just friendly advice." Mark Chen stressed that "no one believes the U.S. is against Taiwan." He also told ADIR that Taiwan itself is under "tremendous pressure" from China but that U.S. criticism is helping to generate more public support for the DPP referendum. He concluded that President Chen, nevertheless, "knows his own responsibility." ¶3. (S) Saturday evening, AIT closely monitored the DPP's Kaohsiung rally (reported septel) and informed the Department that there had been no surpises in President Chen's speech (Ref B). The only part in which Chen repeated his standard line about Taiwan being an independent sovereign state came at the end of the speech, where he said that, contrary to the PRC's claim that Taiwan is part of China, no one in Taiwan agrees. Taiwan people, he continued, believe that there is one state on each side of the Strait. Apart from that, most of the speech focused on mobilizing the people to sign the UN referendum petitiion and to vote in the upcoming elections. YOUNG