HONORARY KMT CHAIRMAN LIEN CHAN ON CROSS-STRAIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TAIPEI 001147

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/05/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL CH TW
SUBJECT: HONORARY KMT CHAIRMAN LIEN CHAN ON CROSS-STRAIT
RELATIONS AND FOREIGN POLICY

Classified By: AIT Director Stephen M. Young,
Reasons: 1.5 (b/d)


1. (C) Summary: Honorary KMT Chairman Lien Chan told the
Director on August 4 that he will meet with Taiwan Affairs
Office Director Wang Yi in Beijing on August 5, the first day
of his trip to China to attend the Olympic opening ceremony
on August 8. Lien stressed the importance of U.S. support
for cross-Strait progress, saying the two sides are heading
in the right direction by focusing on economic links as their
first priority. Lien assured the Director that President Ma
Ying-jeou will keep his upcoming U.S. transits low-key, which
Lien contrasted to the behavior of President Chen during his
2001 transit of New York. Lien also discussed Ma's desire
for a "diplomatic truce" with Beijing and possible
senior-level PRC visits to Taiwan in the coming months. End
Summary.

Cross-Strait Relations
--------------


2. (C) Honorary KMT Chairman Lien Chan, who was accompanied
by former TECRO Representative Stephen Chen, told the
Director on August 4 that he will begin a 10-12 day trip to
China on August 5, first flying to Beijing where he will meet
with Taiwan Affairs Office Director Wang Yi and then touring
in the Chengde area for two days. After attending the
Olympic opening ceremony and a large reception, Lien will
spend two days watching Olympic events and then go touring in
Manchuria, visiting Changbaishan on the North Korean border
and also Changchun City. Lien's traveling party, consisting
of family members and in-laws, will total 12 persons.


3. (C) Beijing's decision to order its media to use
"Zhonghua Taibei" when referring to the "Chinese Taipei"
Olympic team is a positive cross-Strait development, Lien
maintained. The two sides reached a consensus in Hong Kong
in 1989 to use "Zhonghua Taibei" in the Olympics itself, he
noted. However, this consensus did not cover the PRC, which
has regularly used the objectionable "Zhongguo Taipei." In
response to Taiwan's requests, the Chinese government has now
finally agreed to order its controlled media to use "Zhonghua
Taibei" instead of "Zhongguo Taibei" in referring to Taiwan's
Olympic team. (Note: "Zhongguo Taipei," which can be
translated as "Taipei, China," is objectionable to Taipei
because it could suggest that Taiwan is part of the PRC.)


4. (C) Lien stressed the importance of the 16-character
phrase PRC President Hu Jintao first used during their April
29 meeting: "Build mutual trust, shelve disputes, seek common
ground while reserving differences, and bring about a win-win
situation." Hu had also added a footnote: "Looking back at
2005, we can now say our decision was fully correct." This
referred to the five-point "agreement" reached by the two
sides during Lien Chan's 2005 visit to China. Lien added
that the five-point agreement has been included in the KMT
platform, and therefore reflects the party's overall thinking
about cross-Strait relations.


5. (C) Lien said he hoped both sides could take steps toward
realizing the 2005 agreement but this will take time and
there need to be priorities. Lien said he had recommended
and Ma Ying-jeou had agreed that the first priority should be
opening up economic relations with the mainland. This was
the right direction, especially opening up the tourism market
to mainland residents and implementing weekend cross-Strait
charter flights. Unresolved issues, such as direct flight
routes and cargo charter flights, should be dealt with at the
next round of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) -
Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS)
dialogue, which will probably be held in October or November
in Taiwan. Lien said he expected President Ma will meet with
ARATS Chairman Chen Yunlin when Chen visits Taiwan for the
SEF-ARATS dialogue.


6. (C) The Director asked whether Beijing would send a
leader or senior official to Taiwan for the party-to-party
dialogue. Lien noted he had made three points in internal
meetings concerning possible visits by Chinese officials:

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Taiwan would need to protect their security, show them
respect by following proper protocol, and exhibit general
good will. On the question of who Beijing might send to
Taiwan, Lien ticked off the rank order of Chinese leaders and
senior officials responsible for Taiwan affairs: President Hu
Jintao, Politburo Standing Committee member Jia Qinglin,
State Councilor Dai Bingguo, and Wang Yi. Jia would be too
senior for a visit at this time, Lien suggested, adding that
he would ask Wang Yi about visiting Taiwan when they met on
August 5.


7. (C) The Director noted that some Taiwan media articles
have inaccurately claimed that the U.S. is unhappy with the
progress in cross-Strait relations. On the contrary, the
U.S. is pleased to see the improvement in cross-Strait
economic relations, the Director emphasized, adding that we
would only be concerned if the PRC tried to impose its will
on Taiwan. Lien Chan emphasized the importance of U.S.
support for the improvement of cross-Strait relations, adding
that he had taken note of President Bush's recent statement
that he was pleased with cross-Strait developments.
President Ma needs this type of encouragement from the U.S.,
said Lien, who returned several times to the importance of
U.S. support for cross-Strait progress during his
conversation with the Director.

Doubts About Ma's Efforts to be President of All the People
-------------- --------------


8. (C) Asked whether there was adequate coordination between
the KMT, legislature, and government, Lien noted he was not
involved in day-to-day operations although he was sometimes
asked for his opinion on major policy decisions. Although
the officials are decent and good people, they do have
different ideas about certain policies, he acknowledged.
"Speaking frankly," Lien said Ma wants to be president of all
the people. Although a very good political slogan, this is
actually quite difficult to accomplish in practice, and a
leader can be successful if he satisfies the majority. Lien
noted there are differences within the party on this issue.
Some people argue that under the new single member
legislative district system, a legislator can serve all the
people in his or her district, pan-Green as well as pan-Blue
and independents. Lien questioned the wisdom of Ma's
appointment of Taiwan Solidarity Union member Lai Shin-yuan
as chairperson of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC). If Ma
wanted to bring the opposition into the fold, he would need
to bring in people whom the opposition supported. However,
the opposition regarded Lai as a turncoat and therefore did
not appreciate Ma's gesture, Lien said.

Foreign Policy
--------------


9. (C) The Director noted that Lien had attended a dinner
hosted by Ma for former foreign ministers on August 3. At
the dinner, Lien said, Ma emphasized the need for a
"diplomatic truce" across the Strait. He also said there
would be no "gimmicks" during his trip to Paraguay to
congratulate President Lugo on his inauguration. Ma stressed
he would keep his U.S. transits low key, and not try to make
them into something more than transits, as President Chen had
done when he transited New York City in 2001.


10. (C) Lien noted that the Lugo team had announced they
wanted USD 71 million from Taiwan to continue diplomatic
relations, but Taiwan had not responded. Also, Beijing had
apparently rebuffed Lugo's overture to visit China, an
important sign from the Chinese. The international space
issue is very important to Taiwan, Lien emphasized. Taking
away one of Taiwan's 23 remaining diplomatic partners adds
nothing to China, but will hurt cross-Strait relations, Lien
observed. Taiwan hopes to explore this issue with Beijing
but does not know how to start, Lien maintained, adding that
the U.S. can play an important role. The Director pointed
out that Secretary Rice and other U.S. officials have been
urging Beijing to show flexibility on the issue of Taiwan's
international space.


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Comment
--------------


11. (C) Perhaps buoyed by his upcoming trip to China, Lien
Chan was rather upbeat about current cross-Strait and foreign
policy trends under the Ma administration. Lien clearly
wanted us to understand how important it is for Taiwan to
have U.S. support and encouragement in both areas.
YOUNG