TAIWAN - ST. LUCIA: KICKING IT UP A NOTCH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 000931

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/26/2032
TAGS: PREL TW
SUBJECT: TAIWAN - ST. LUCIA: KICKING IT UP A NOTCH

REF: A. BRIDGETOWN 00488


B. TAIPEI 02652

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


1. (C) Summary: Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang on April 25
praised the Government of St. Lucia's April 24 announcement
that it would establish full diplomatic relations with Taiwan
as a positive development that would help Taiwan boost its
diplomatic partners from 24 to 25. In the midst of a fierce
battle for the DPP's presidential nomination, Su made his
comments during a campaign rally and was immediately attacked
by the pan-Blue media and DPP rivals for prematurely
"revealing" the St. Lucia agreement for his own personal
political gain ahead of the May 6 primary vote. The
re-establishment of diplomatic ties with St. Lucia will be
seen as a minor success for Taiwan as it tries to reverse the
downward spiral in diplomatic recognitions, down to 24 from a
high of 29 when President Chen took office in 2000. End
Summary.

Taiwan Feels the Love...
--------------


2. (U) Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang praised the St. Lucia
Foreign Minister's announcement on April 24 that the
Government of St. Lucia intends to establish full diplomatic
relations with Taiwan. Su, in the midst of a fierce battle
for the Democratic Progressive Party's presidential
nomination, made the comments during a campaign rally in
Taoyuan County on the evening of April 25.


3. (C) Premier Su told supporters that he had "some good
news" regarding Taiwan's foreign diplomatic work, pointing to
the St. Lucia Foreign Minister's announcement as a positive
development that could help Taiwan boost its formal
diplomatic partners from 24 to 25. Su emphasized that Taiwan
needs to "stand up" to ongoing efforts by China to constrain
Taipei's international presence and vowed to push for entry
into the United Nations under the name "Taiwan." A cabinet
spokesman later said the administration welcomes St. Lucia's
"sincerity and good will" and urged Foreign Ministry
officials to press ahead with the necessary work to make the
formal recognition a reality.


4. (C) A Foreign Ministry official told AIT on April 26
that Taiwan is encouraged by St. Lucia's "positive" response
to Taipei's diplomatic overtures and suggested the
development was a result of Taiwan's long-standing
relationship with St. Lucia Prime Minister Compton, whose
government recognized Taiwan while he was in power between
1985 and 1997. The Foreign Ministry official, however, said
that the Taiwan-St. Lucia deal had not been completely sealed
and that details would be worked out over the next few days
or weeks. According to Taiwan media, Foreign Minister James
Huang said he hoped the diplomatic recognition documents
could be signed within a month.


5. (C) Foreign Minister Huang told the Director on April 25
that his ministry still has more work to do to "nail down"
the agreement, which will consist of assistance programs in
health-care and agriculture. Huang declined to attach a
dollar amount to Taiwan's overall package. The Director
cautioned Huang that he can expect China, smarting from the
loss, to redouble its efforts to isolate Taiwan. In an
earlier discussion, Huang had said that he would be traveling
to St. Lucia at the end of this month to finalize the
agreement between Taiwan and St. Lucia.

...But Premier Could Feel the Pain
--------------


6. (C) Despite the welcome news for Taiwan, Premier Su was
immediately attacked in the pan-Blue media and by his rivals
in the DPP primary race for raising the issue at a campaign

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event. Vice President Annette Lu, who is ONE of the four DPP
hopefuls but is trailing in the polls, criticized Su for
prematurely "revealing" the St. Lucia agreement in order to
boost his standing ahead of the party primary vote scheduled
for May 6. Lu also accused Su of trying to take personal
credit for work done by the Presidential Office and the
Foreign Ministry, adding that the move reflected Su's lack of
understanding of foreign diplomacy and his inability to
handle international affairs. Su campaign headquarters
director Lan Shih-tsung, however, told AIT he expects the St.
Lucia announcement to play positively for Su, but added it
would not likely be a significant factor in the upcoming
primary vote.

Comment: Reversing the Downward Spiral?
--------------


7. (C) Since President Chen Shui-bian took office in 2000
the number of Taiwan's formal diplomatic partners has dropped
from 29 to 24, the latest loss being Chad in July 2006.
Taiwan Foreign Ministry officials have been under pressure to
stem this trend. The last Taiwan victory was in 2005 when
Nauru, a South Pacific island nation of 11,000 people,
switched recognition back to Taipei after having switched
from Taiwan to the PRC in 2002. So far, the media here is
treating this as a relatively minor story. Nonetheless, the
re-establishment of diplomatic ties with St. Lucia will be a
viewed as an achievement for the Chen administration and a
personal victory for Foreign Minister Huang, whose
performance rating centers around the battle to preserve and
attract diplomatic partners.
YOUNG