MEDIA REACTION: U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, CROSS-STRAIT

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001524 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - NIDA EMMONS DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, CROSS-STRAIT RELATIONS ¶1. Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused October 28 news coverage on the upcoming visit to Taiwan by China's Association for Relations across theQaiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin and planned talks between ARATS and Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF); and on Taiwan's sluggish economy. In terms of editorials and commentaries, a column in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" discussed next week's U.S. presidential election and concluded that Barack Obama will be elected as the United States' first black president. An editorial in the pro-independence "Liberty Times," on the other hand, discussed the DPP's mass rally last Saturday and the upcoming SEF-ARATS talks. The article called on the legislature quickly to establish a mechanism to oversee any deals made between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party, to prevent Taiwan from being "sold out." End summary. ¶2. U.S. Presidential Election "The United States Is About to Have a New Regime" Columnist Antonio Chiang wrote in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" [circulation: 500,000] (10/28): "Following fierce campaigning for as long as two years, Barack Obama of the Democratic Party has overcome one difficulty after another and is now sure to win. One week from now, [he] will rewrite history by becoming the first black president of the United States. ... After Obama becomes the host of the White House, the Democratic Party, having acquired a majority of seats in both the Senate and House, will be a party of comprehensive governance and full responsibility. But the role of the U.S. government has changed significantly in the wake of the financial crisis. Previously, the United States was co-administered by Washington D.C. and Wall Street, with the former in power and the latter in charge of the money. Now that Wall Street has to look to Washington D.C. [for help], [the new administration] is going to be a very different big government. "The United States' status in the international community has suffered a rapid decline under the eight-year governance of President George W. Bush. In the post-Bush era, the international order has put on a look of multipolarization; the United States is no longer a hegemon with the world as its empire, and New York's position as the hub of world finance has been challenged. At this moment, with a black president coming to the fore, the world is undergoing great changes, and the United States is undergoing drastic changes as well. God bless the United States!" ¶3. Cross-Strait Relations "The Legislative Body Must Quickly Establish a Superintendence Mechanism to Prevent Ma [Ying-jeou] and Chen [Yunlin] from Selling out Taiwan in Chamber Meetings" [Ed.: behind closed doors] The pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 700,000] editorialized (10/28): "... A total of 600,000 [Taiwan] people took to the streets on October 25, roaring their rage at the 'incompetent' government and making concrete demands regarding the actual benefits of [China's Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait Chairman] Chen Yunlin. But [the demonstration] obviously has failed to make the Ma Administration straiQten its backbone and use the rally as leverage proactively to negotiate and argue strongly [with China] in a manner that embraces the interests of Taiwan and its people. What is the problem here? Could it be that the [upcoming] 'Chiang-Chen meeting' and 'Ma-Chen meeting' are meetings where those in power on both sides [of the Strait] will collude with each other to seek peace? Should that be the case, can [we] still trust this administration? The legitimacy for Chen Yunlin's visit to Taiwan has totally vanished, and Taiwan citizens should stand up bravely and demand strongly that the legislative body pay special attention to the seriousness of the KMT's and CCP's exchange of secret deals. The legislature must also immediately establish a strict superintendence mechanism to prevent Taiwan from being subverted or toppled." YOUNG