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

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000159 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.-CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused February 13 news coverage on Taiwan's sagging economy, on the collision of U.S. and Russian satellites Tuesday, and on the KMT's handling of its party assets. In terms of editorials and commentaries, a column in the centrist, KMT-leaning "China Times" discussed U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's upcoming visit to China and said Clinton will certainly be disappointed if she expects Beijing's cooperation on the various issues that will be discussed between the two nations. An editorial in the pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" cited AIT Director Stephen Young's recent remarks and discussed Taiwan's efforts to seek to be included in the United States' visa waiver program together with AIT's call for Taiwan to open its market to U.S. beef exports. The article linked these two issues and said Taiwan "should take the opportunity to turn the tables on the U.S. and offer to open our market to U.S. beef in return for inclusion in the visa waiver program." End summary. A) "Is Hillary Clinton's China Policy Smart Enough?" The "International Lookout" column in the centrist, KMT-leaning "China Times" [circulation: 150,000] wrote (2/13): "It appears that the U.S. State Department has been quite rusty in [dealing]... with China. It was [former] Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, not [former] Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, under the Bush administration who had close relations with Beijing. What one saw was that both Beijing and Washington were just holding ongoing dialogue on economic issues and simply put other issues aside. That explains why the newly sworn-in Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said [recently] that Sino-U.S. relations are not just about economics. Clinton intends to expand [the range of] issues [to be discussed] between the United States and China, and it is believed that she wants to hold the authority to dictate [U.S.] China policy in her hands. But is this a smart move? Clinton said herself that she wants to demonstrate 'smart diplomacy,' but if she really puts all those important issues -- climate change, energy use, human rights, etc. - together as Washington claimed it will do, she will definitely return home crestfallen. ... "Beijing has never had a favorable impression of Hillary Clinton. Beijing finds it hard to forget the unfriendly remarks she made when she attended the UN World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 in her capacity as First Lady; it also remembers clearly that she once called on [former] President George W. Bush not to attend the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. As a result, both the [Chinese] government and its public opinion hold a cautious and reserved attitude toward Clinton's appointment and her visit to China. Clinton will surely be disappointed if what she meant by 'broader cooperation' was 'getting a yes answer' on all the issues desired by the United States, particularly when Washington has to look to Beijing for assistance in its economy now." B) "What's the Beef with U.S. Visas?" The pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" [circulation: 30,000] editorialized (2/13): "... Taipei has been pushing hard for many years for inclusion in the US program and, as has been noted time and again, Taiwan meets all the criteria, including a low rate of visa rejection of around 3 percent - the threshold for qualification is less than 10 percent. Indeed, the recent implementation of e-passports means Taiwan is more than qualified to be part of the US program, yet Washington refuses to budge on the issue. The US State Department's Web site says that even if a nation meets all the criteria, 'designation as a [visa waiver program] country is at the discretion of the US government.' Like the US' refusal to discuss a free trade agreement with Taiwan, Washington's continued rejection of Taipei's advances on the visa issue has led some to speculate that China is the problem. However, the fact that the UK and many other countries that have close relations with Beijing, such as Japan, grant Taiwanese landing visas would suggest that this isn't the case. "So what exactly is Washington's beef? Maybe Taiwan's refusal to fully reopen its markets to imports of US beef is the source of the problem, as it is obviously a big bone of contention for many in the US. This was evident once again this week when the Taiwanese government found itself under pressure from American Institute in Taiwan Director Stephen Young, as well as the president of the influential American Enterprise Institute think tank. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that the US has suspended talks on all Taiwan-US trade issues until the beef dilemma is resolved. If that is the case, then instead of procrastinating any longer, the ministry and the government should take the opportunity to turn the tables on the US and offer to open our market to US beef in return for inclusion in the visa waiver program. This is the kind of language Washington understands and would certainly create a 'win-win' situation - to use the popular phrase. "Young, as the US' main messenger on this issue, has repeatedly stated that Taiwan should make a 'science-based' decision regarding imports of US beef. Well, it is time for the US to make a 'fact-based' decision on allowing Taiwanese into the US. If the UK government believes Taipei is trustworthy enough to tackle the problem of Chinese using forged Taiwanese documents to illegally enter its territory, then there is no reason why the US can't do the same. It is time to call Washington's bluff on this long-delayed issue." YOUNG