MEDIA REACTION: U.S. FINANCIAL CRISIS

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001713 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. FINANCIAL CRISIS Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused December 11 news coverage on the contention over the state-run enterprises' year-end bonuses; on the controversy surrounding Taiwan legislators' possible U.S. citizenship; and on the Taiwan High Court's decision to nullify the election of a KMT legislator on charges of vote buying. In terms of editorials and commentaries, an op-ed in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily," written by a Ph.D. candidate at a PRC university, discussed the way the U.S. government is handling the current financial crisis and said the United States has again adopted similar strategies to "beat down on other countries while at the same time strengthening itself." End summary. "[Financial] Crisis of the United States, [But the Bill Is] Paid by Other Countries" Wu Fang-ming, a Ph.D. candidate at the School of Economics and Management in Beijing's Tsinghua University, opined in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" [circulation: 520,000] (12/11): "... The [discussion regarding] who is paying the bill for the U.S. [financial] crisis has again verified that in the financial and economic crises of recent times, the U.S. government has adopted similar strategies to suppress other [countries] while at the same time strengthening itself: taking advantage of the unique edge enjoyed by the U.S. currency in the global financial system and dispersing the crisis to other countries, and beating down or even destroying, those countries that are on the rise. The financial storm in Asia [in 1997] was a typical 'financial/currency war,' which resulted in significant depreciation of the Asian currencies against the greenback, in order to reduce import prices and the inflation rate in the United States. That way [the United States] was able to take over businesses that either went bankrupt or whose value dropped considerably by paying very low prices and thereby stimulating the [market's] needs for U.S. dollars. If one looks at the current financial tsunami from such a perspective, [one can tell that] neither Washington nor Wall Street is as fragile as tofu and they will not easily collapse at the first blow. Instead, [the way Washington handled the financial crisis] contains a shrewd strategic intent and implies a model of re-distribution of global wealth: interests [go to] the United States while risks are shared by the globe. The United States is thus a one hundred percent 'unilateralist' hegemon! Perhaps this is one of the reasons why it has become the super hegemon of the world." YOUNG