MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001203 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/P, EAP/PD - THOMAS HAMM DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused news coverage October 6 on the aftermath of Typhoon Parma, which brought heavy rain to the northern and eastern parts of the island; and on the joint rescue operations conducted by both sides of the Taiwan Strait to search for and rescue the crew of a Panama-registered cargo ship sinking off Taiwan's outlying Penghu Islands Monday. In terms of editorials and commentaries, an editorial in the pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" discussed the rise of China and its relations with other nations. The article said U.S. President Barack Obama's giving "the cold shoulder" to Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama "sends the wrong signal," indicating that Obama "too, is willing to kowtow before the Chinese emperor." End summary. "Obama Blinks, Freedom Suffers" The pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" [circulation: 30,000] editorialized (10/6): "... For obvious reasons, China should be embraced as a major developing nation and given a place at the table that is commensurate with its importance. It is in no one's interest, however, to inflate Beijing's sense of importance. What China needs as it continues its rise is a degree of humility, but this will only develop if other nations maintain their dignity. When US President Barack Obama gives Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama the cold shoulder (the first time since 1991 that a US president will not meet the spiritual leader while he is in Washington) lest meeting him anger Chinese President Hu Jintao ahead of the Obama-Hu meeting next month, it sends the wrong signal. If there is one place where the president of the most powerful country in the world should do as he chooses, it is on US soil. "The same could be said of President Ma Ying-jeou, who snubbed the Dalai Lama during his trip to Taiwan last month, or of Taiwan's -- and now perhaps New Zealand's -- refusal to allow Uighur rights activist Rebiya Kadeer to visit. China's rise is extraordinary, if not unprecedented. But there is nothing supernatural about it, nor is it a symbol of superiority -- Han Chinese chauvinism notwithstanding. China's rise also comes at great cost: grave human rights violations, environmental degradation and support for repressive regimes. The more accommodating the world is to Beijing's sense of superiority, and the more it tries not to anger China, the greater China's tendency will be to regard itself as above criticism. There is no reason why Obama should not meet the Dalai Lama. Unless he, too, is willing to kowtow before the Chinese emperor." STANTON