MEDIA REACTION: SECRETARY CLINTON'S TRIP TO ASIA

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000191 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: SECRETARY CLINTON'S TRIP TO ASIA Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused February 19 news coverage on the economic recession facing the island, whose GDP shrank by 8.36 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, the largest-ever quarterly drop; on a recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease on pig farms in central Taiwan; and on the on-going investigation into former President Chen Shui-bian and his family's legal cases. In terms of editorials and commentaries, a column in the pro-unification "United Daily News" described U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's trip to Asia as "well considered in every aspect" and concluded that "[A] clearer outlook for the United States' Asia policy will emerge after Clinton completes her trip to the four countries." An op-ed piece in the centrist, KMT-leaning "China Times" discussed Beijing's analysis of the strategic set-up of the Ma Ying-jeou Administration. The article said given the warming relations across the Taiwan Strait, "it is expected that the Taiwan issue is unlikely to become a major topic on the agenda during U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's first visit to China." End summary. A) "[Secretary] Hillary [Clinton] Visits Asia -- [a Trip] Well Considered in Every Aspect" Professor Liu Pi-jung of Soochow University's Department of Political Science wrote in his column in the pro-unification "United Daily News" [circulation: 400,000] (2/19): "... Japan was [Secretary Hillary Clinton's] first stop, and the move indicates that the United States wants to modify its previous policy which 'attached greater attention to China than Japan' and to rebuild U.S.-Japan ties in order to maintain a more balanced [relationship] among the three. ... The second leg [of her Asian trip] is Indonesia. In addition to the fact that [U.S. President Barack] Obama resided in Indonesia during his youth, Clinton can tell the Islamic world that the United States is not an enemy of Muslims. ... Her third stop will be South Korea, and the major issues on the agenda are economics and trade and North Korea, ... which is obviously the focus of her trip this time. ... "China will be the last stop [on Clinton's itinerary], but its importance is by no means lower than that of the first leg. Washington needs Beijing's [cooperation] on the North Korean issue, which is also the case on economic and environmental issues. That is why Clinton said that [Washington] wants to 'deepen and strengthen' its relations with China. ... A clearer outlook of the United States' Asia policy will emerge after Clinton completes her trip to the four countries." B) "Pro-U.S. and Maintaining a Friendly Relationship with China -- This Is the Key Point" Chen Yu-chun, a Taiwan academic now working as a senior research fellow at China's Tsinghua University, opined in the centrist, KMT-leaning "China Times " [circulation: 140,000] (2/19): "... Yet Beijing has an in-depth analysis, and it believes that the Ma Ying-jeou Administration's strategic set-up is that 'politically Taipei will continue its current line; economically it will take advantage of China's [economic strength]; while in terms of security it will rely on the United States.' Such an acknowledgement stands as the main reason behind what [China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman] Chen Yunlin stressed during his visit to Taiwan [last November], the six-point speech delivered by [Chinese President] Hu Jintao [on cross-Strait relations last December], and Beijing's reiteration of 'economics first and politics later' during a recent task force meeting on Taiwan. In other words, in the political aspect, Beijing has limited expectations for Ma, because Taipei wants to maintain the status quo, and Ma is adamant about advocating 'no unification' [with China]. Taiwan relies on the United States in terms of security because it [concerns] the survival of Taiwan's national defense. When it comes to Taiwan's current economic situation, Beijing is aware that the Ma Administration wants to take advantage of the factual situation of China's economic rise. Basically, there should be no problem with the fact that Taiwan wants to take advantage of China's economy, but the prerequisite should be that both sides maintain a stable and friendly relationship. ... Against such a backdrop, it is expected that the Taiwan issue is unlikely to become a major topic on the agenda during U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's first visit to China. ..." YOUNG