MEDIA REACTION: SINO-JAPAN RELATIONS

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000623 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: SINO-JAPAN RELATIONS Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused news coverage May 6 on the investigation into Taiwan's Papua New Guinea diplomatic fund scandal; Taiwan's second fatal enterovirus case this year; the new policy of Taiwan's Department of Health (DOH) regarding vitamins and drug categories; and on the leakage of personal information online during Taiwan's tax season. In terms of editorials and commentaries, an editorial and a commentary in the pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times," based on the historical issues and the role of the United States and Taiwan in the region, cast doubt on the expectation that Sino-Japan relations will improve simply by Chinese President Hu Jintao's first state visit to Japan starting May 6. End summary. A) "Will Japan Get in Bed with China?" The pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" [circulation: 30,000] editorialized (5/6): "... But there are a few sticking points that are sure to put clouds among the high hopes for clearer skies in Sino-Japanese relations. "The first is the fact that Japan will express no outright opposition to Taiwanese independence in the joint statement, something that Beijing had vehemently requested. Rather, Tokyo will maintain its position that it does not support a unilateral move toward independence by Taipei. This is good news for Taiwan, which would have been dealt a severe blow had Tokyo abandoned its longstanding position on the issue. "By doing so, the Fukuda administration will be giving Taipei enough latitude to negotiate without the handicap of a substantive ally that has been muzzled. Tokyo's refusal to change its position also underscores Taiwan's continued importance in Japan's strategic sphere and outer area of defense. "Which brings us to the second likely sticking point: the Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition's efforts, spearheaded by a referendum last year, to amend Article 9 of the Constitution, which since the end of World War II has made pacifism the modus operandi in Japan's international relations. Pressured by the US to play a greater role in international security, some elements in Tokyo have seen this as an opportunity to break the shackles of the Constitution and give the military more opportunities to participate in missions abroad. "While the desire for a reinterpretation of Article 9 is a long way from overt militarism, Beijing is unlikely to react kindly to such developments - especially if it interprets the measures as a sign of a resurgent Japanese military or a means for the US and Japan to constrain China's actions internationally. ..." B) "A Fresh Start for China and Japan?" Jiang Wenran, the acting director of the China Institute at the University of Alberta and a senior fellow of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, opined in the pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" [circulation: 30,000] (5/6): "... [Japan Prime Minister Yasuo] Fukuda has dropped [former Japan Prime Minister Shinzo] Abe's talk about an 'arch of freedom' - an effort to forge a bloc with the US, Australia and India. But Japan remains concerned about China's rapidly modernizing military, while China worries about a potential US-Japan containment strategy for China, especially in the case of a crisis in the Taiwan Strait. "So, although both sides endorse the idea of a 'mutually beneficial strategic relationship,' and despite bilateral progress on military exchanges, mutual trust and confidence-building have a long way to go. ..." YOUNG