Identifier | Created | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|
09AITTAIPEI1239 | 2009-10-19 09:39:00 | UNCLASSIFIED | American Institute Taiwan, Taipei |
VZCZCXYZ0020 RR RUEHWEB DE RUEHIN #1239 2920939 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 190939Z OCT 09 FM AIT TAIPEI TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2503 INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 9440 RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0854 |
UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001239 |
1. Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused news coverage October 17-19 on the Council of Grand Justices' constitutional interpretation regarding former President Chen Shui-bian's legal case; on a seminar held jointly by Taiwan's Foundation on Asia-Pacific Peace Studies (APS) and the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) discussing U.S.-China-Taiwan Relations under the Ma Ying-jeou and Obama administrations; and on President Ma Ying-jeou becoming KMT Chairman and the KMT's eighteenth national party congress over the weekend. 2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, an op-ed in the conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post" foresaw that the United States and China are going to strengthen their political and economic relations. This is because the United States needs China to deal with issues including the United States' economic woes, Iran, North Korea and climate change. End summary. 3. Sino-U.S. Relations "President Obama May Forge Stronger Bond with Beijing on China Trip" The conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post" [circulation: 30,000] editorialized (10/19): "As U.S. President Barack Obama prepares for his first visit to China next month, one inevitable question arises: How will the trip impact the U.S.-China relationship, which has already become one of the most important partnerships in the world today? "The answer seems obvious. The impact will be for the partnership to strengthen and become more co-dependent, both politically and economically. The Sino-U.S. partnership has been upgraded from being one between "competitors" to one between "strategic partners" over the past decade. Furthermore, since Obama took office in January, ties have been ratcheted up one notch higher as the new president became beleaguered by a host of thorny issues, domestic as well as international, that need a helping hand from Beijing. ... "When Obama visits Beijing next month, he is expected to ask the Chinese to invest more in Treasurys, and he may reach some sort of quid pro quo with his host, like a reiteration of U.S. support for one China, as well as opposition to protectionism. Obama, the new Nobel peace laureate, should return home with a stronger partnership with China, which he needs as an ally of sorts to carry out his agenda of 'change' that the troubled world is awaiting with fervent expectations." STANTON |