MEDIA REACTION: CROSS-STRAIT RELATIONS

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001550 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: CROSS-STRAIT RELATIONS ¶1. Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese- and English-language dailies gave significant straight news reporting and editorial coverage November 1-3 to the five-day Taiwan visit by China's Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin; the talks to be held between ARATS and Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF); and the planned demonstrations initiated by DPP. News coverage also focused on President Ma Ying-jeou's interview with several major Taiwan dailies Sunday, in which he reiterated his insistence on upholding Taiwan's sovereignty when dealing with cross-Strait issues; and on the continuing probe into former first family's money laundering case. The pro-unification "United Daily News" ran a banner headline on page two November 3 reading "Climax of Ma [Ying-jeou]-Chen [Yunlin] Meeting: Planning to Request that the Other Side [of the Taiwan Strait] Withdraw Missiles." ¶2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, an editorial in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" hailed Chen's visit and said, judging from the international climate as well as Taiwan's current situation, Taiwan needs to "change its previous pro-U.S. and anti-Communist grand strategy to that of pro-U.S. and befriending China, or it will hardly find a way out." An editorial in the pro-unification "United Daily News" said the SEF-ARATS meeting will be a trend for "peace and co-prosperity" across the Taiwan Strait. A separate "United Daily News" op-ed also held positive views on the upcoming cross-Strait talks, saying that such a breakthrough development will help both Taiwan and China to create a win-win situation across the Taiwan Strait. An editorial in the centrist, KMT-leaning "China Times" called the SEF-ARATS meeting a "highly difficult chess game," in which "whoever can grasp the true intent of Taiwan's current mainstream public opinion will be the real winner." An editorial in the conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post" also welcomed Chen's visit and the cross-Strait talks to be held in Taipei, saying they would benefit Taiwan economically. The pro-independence "Liberty Times," on the other hand, panned the SEF-ARATS talks, calling them "a ceremony in which Taiwan welcomes envoys from a superior nation to sign a treaty of surrender." An editorial in the pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" said "... courtesy of Ma's ineptitude, it seems inevitable that cross-strait dtente was going to arrive hand in hand with civil unrest." A separate "Taipei Times" op-ed reminded Beijing that, while it is having dialogue with Taipei, it should change its mindset and sincerely respect Taiwan's sovereignty. An editorial in the pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" criticized the KMT government for monopolizing cross-Strait issues and hiding cross-Strait talks in a black box without the oversight of the legislature. END summary. A) "The Advantage of Chen Yunlin's Visit Outweighs Its Disadvantage" The mass-circulation "Apple Daily" [circulation: 520,000] editorialized (11/3): "Why do we support and welcome [China's Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman] Chen Yunlin's visit to Taiwan? Judging from the general direction of mankind's evolution, peaceful interaction is always better than confrontation and war. Judging from the bigger perspective of the international climate, the Cold War has ended; relations between the United States and China are getting closer; and China has become a strong power in the region. Realism becomes the only valid point of view for Taiwan. [Taiwan] must face the reality of China's existence and its influence. Judging from the smaller picture of Taiwan's environment, recovery is necessary after heavy economic losses. [In consideration of Taiwan's] national security interests, the United States' demands, and the way out for Taiwan's democracy, [Taiwan] needs to change its previous pro-U.S. and anti-Communist grand strategy to that of pro-U.S. and befriending China, or it will hardly find a way out. Taiwan independence is unlikely to be realized within a [short] period of time, which is a cruel reality that [the Taiwan independence activists] must face courageously. ..." B) "Chiang-Chen Meeting in Taipei: Peace and Co-prosperity Are a Historical Trend" The pro-unification "United Daily News" [circulation: 400,000] editorialized (11/3): "... If one puts the 'Chiang-Chen meeting' in Taipei [this week] against the coordination chart of 'history and reality' of the past six decades, one can tell that the interactions across the Taiwan Strait have been moving along with a major axis -- namely, 'public opinion and peace' -- which has turned from invisible to visible and from insignificant to significant. ... Public opinion yearns for peace, so both sides of the Taiwan Strait must respond to public calls. As long as the authorities on both sides of the Taiwan Strait adhere to the supreme principle of 'peace,' interactions between the two sides can satisfy public opinion calling for 'co-prosperity and a win-win [situation].' As long as the authorities on both sides pay more attention to public opinion calling for 'co-prosperity and a win-win [situation],' peace across the Taiwan Strait can thus be maintained. ... We hope that Ma Ying-jeou, Hu Jintao and future leaders from both sides of the Taiwan Strait are able to outshine the level and accomplishments attained by Chiang Ching-kuo and Deng Xiaoping in terms of their thinking and practices on internal governance, and that such thinking, practices, and achievements can be reflected in 'peaceful and co-prosperous' cross-Strait relations." C) "Chiang-Chen Meeting Not a Zero-Sum Game; Mutually Beneficial and Win-Win to Both Sides of the Taiwan Strait" Chao Chun-shan, Professor of the Graduate Institute of China Studies at Tamkang University, opined in the pro-unification "United Daily News" [circulation: 400,000] (11/3): "... We believe that the consolidation of [Chinese President] Hu Jintao's leadership and the smooth transition of government in Taiwan for the second time are the important turning points for creating a relationship in which both sides of the Taiwan Strait can negotiate with each other and systemizes such negotiations. The concept of 'harmony' raised by Hu not only is applicable to the Chinese Communists when dealing with international and external issues, but also conforms to what the current cross-Strait relations need. ... "... Therefore, the major challenge following the meeting between Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman P. K. Chiang and China's Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin is how to simplify every agreement that both sides reach and turn them into something operational, making the general public feel that they will directly benefit from such agreements. Second, during the process of implementing [the agreements], circumstances should be avoided in which 'countermeasures are taken during the process of policy implementation;' and, furthermore, the circumstances in which everyone does things his own way should also be avoided. Last, in order to prevent cross-Strait relations from being interfered with by some accidents, both sides of the Taiwan Strait should establish a hotline mechanism to bring 'preventive diplomacy' and 'preventive defense' into full play, which will prevent both sides [of the Taiwan Strait] from miscalculating and causing misjudgment. ..." D) "Chiang-Chen Talks Must Be Steered to a Positive Development Direction" The centrist, KMT-leaning "China Times" [circulation: 220,000] editorialized (11/3): "... In other words, in the next few days, we will likely see two sets of disjointed images clashing with each other: one is occasions on which representatives from Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation and China's Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait meet and talk, and the other is scenes in which pro-Green protesters demonstrate outside those meeting venues. ... These two sets of images actually reflect the two kinds of group anxiety currently flowing in Taiwan: One is the fear and anxiety that Taiwan will be isolated from the globe or East Asia, and the hope to plow a way out for Taiwan's sagging economy with alleviated cross-Strait tension. The other is the anxiety that Taiwan will be annexed by China, the fear that, with rapid interaction and integration across the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan's destiny will fall into Beijing's hands. These two kinds of group anxiety are the two parallel lines marking political confrontation between the Blue and the Green camps in Taiwan, which will be released in the next few days. "One can say that this is a highly difficult chess game, with the Blue camp hoping that the consensus reached on certain topics during the Chiang-Chen meetings can be constructed into a milestone, with which both sides can move further towards co-existence and co-prosperity, while the Green camp is trying its best to turn any consensus into evidence showing that the Ma Administration is 'leaning toward Beijing.' Either side that can grasp the true intent of the current mainstream public opinion in Taiwan will be the real winner in the Chiang-Chen talks." E) "Welcome to Chen Yunlin" The pro-unification, English-language "China Post" [circulation: 30,000] editorialized (11/3): "Taiwan sincerely welcomes Chen Yunlin. ... The ARATS chairman's brief visit here marks not just the renewal of the dtente but a new beginning of a rapprochement between the two sides of the strait, which is urgently needed while Taiwan is bracing itself for the silent tsunami triggered by the U.S. financial meltdown. Without what is known as normalization of their economic relations, Taiwan can hardly hope to survive the global tidal wave that may engulf it in six months to a year. The regular meetings of the chairman of the two organizations, which would follow the one in Taipei, will help make that normalization a reality. ..." F) "Chiang-Chen Meeting Will Not Be Able to Extinguish the Embers of Taiwan's Democracy and the Taiwan-Centric Consciousness" The pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 700,000] editorialized (11/3): "... As a matter of fact, no matter whether it is based on the ROC Constitution upheld by the Blue camp or the fact that Taiwan is already an independent country, the talks between [Taiwan's] Straits Exchange Foundation and [China's] Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait are in essence talks between two countries. They are neither ambiguous talks between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, nor those between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party, which have gone beyond the authorities of each respective party. But under the arrangement of the Ma Administration, the Chiang-Chen talks seem to have become the KMT-CCP talks in disguise, or even worse, a ceremony in which Taiwan welcomes envoys from a superior nation to sign a treaty of surrender. ... The Chiang-Chen meeting will be performed today. For the Ma Administration, it will be a comedy, with unification being the theme of its story. But for the majority of the Taiwan people, including the Blue camp, the meeting is, without a doubt, a tragedy that cannot be redeemed. ..." G) "The Beginning of Civil Disobedience" The pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" [circulation: 30,000] editorialized (11/1): "... In this case, however, the DPP protest [last weekend] marked the beginning of the END of Ma's grace period as an engineer for cross-strait rapprochement. The tide has turned, and the nervousness of the Ma administration as it battles fiscal incompetence and ideological banality reflects this. ... Consistent with the KMT's legislative agenda, the government and judicial officers are politicizing agencies to the point where their neutrality should be called into question. The protests that will follow Chen Yunlin, chairman of China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS),are threatening to tap dissatisfaction over these developments, and could result in a deterioration that Ma manifestly does not have the skill to handle. In other words, courtesy of Ma's ineptitude, it seems inevitable that cross-strait detente was going to arrive hand in hand with civil unrest. ... "The irony of all this, of course, is that Ma was Washington's preferred candidate. Yet the US seemed oblivious that the KMT government was going to have to deal with concerted opposition to its policies - and in the same manner as the ancient regime. Representations have already been made to the US State Department about increasing abuse of speculative powers by local prosecutors and their disgraceful manipulation of the media. What kind of reception they will receive is hard to predict. On the one hand, the State Department boasts an admirable mechanism of global human rights analysis that culminates in an indispensable annual report. On the other, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been tarred by the Bush administration's attacks on fundamental judicial processes in the Guantanamo Bay debacle. "The likely scenario is that American Institute in Taiwan Director Stephen Young will have a few quiet words with President Ma or Premier Liu Chao-shuan after the ARATS visit is over. By that time, it may be too late. There is evidence that politicized members of the community are girding for something more dramatic. If this turns out to be the case, the State Department and the AIT might refer to an American classic of political thought, Civil Disobedience - referred to on this page in yesterday's edition - before speaking out. There they might find insights into the entitlements of an unhappy citizenry in the face of a government that undermines civil liberties and the spirit of the law." H) "Beijing Must Change its Mindset" Tseng Chien-yuan, an Assistant Professor of Public Administration at Chung Hua University, opined in the pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" [circulation: 30,000] (11/3): "... Given the international disadvantage it faces, if Taiwan fails to make it clear to the world that the Republic of China (ROC) is a sovereign and independent nation based on law when Chen visits Taipei as China's official emissary, we will be basically giving in to Beijing and saying that China has sovereign rights over Taiwan. The Taiwan Strait would become a part of China's waters and the international community will not be able to intervene in any disputes that may occur in the Strait, which would place Taiwan in a dangerous position. ... "If China is really sincere about coexisting peacefully with Taiwan and does not wish to see any further spread of what they refer to as 'Taiwanese separatism,' it must try to understand the anger Taiwanese have held toward China for so long. Beijing must also realize that Taiwan is a sovereign nation, equal to it in status, and it must also show due respect and courtesy to President Ma Ying-jeou as president of the ROC. ..." I) "Beijing Must Change its Mindset"' Tseng Chien-yuan, an Assistant Professor of Public Administration at Chung Hua University, opined in the pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" [circulation: 30,000] (11/3): "... Given the international disadvantage it faces, if Taiwan fails to make it clear to the world that the Republic of China (ROC) is a sovereign and independent nation based on law when Chen visits Taipei as China's official emissary, we will be basically giving in to Beijing and saying that China has sovereign rights over Taiwan. The Taiwan Strait would become a part of China's waters and the international community will not be able to intervene in any disputes that may occur in the Strait, which would place Taiwan in a dangerous position. ... "If China is really sincere about coexisting peacefully with Taiwan and does not wish to see any further spread of what they refer to as 'Taiwanese separatism,' it must try to understand the anger Taiwanese have held toward China for so long. Beijing must also realize that Taiwan is a sovereign nation, equal to it in status, and it must also show due respect and courtesy to President Ma Ying-jeou as president of the ROC. ..." YOUNG