Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09AITTAIPEI211
2009-02-25 09:28:00
UNCLASSIFIED
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Cable title:
MEDIA REACTION: SECRETARY CLINTON'S ASIA TRIP
VZCZCXYZ0003 RR RUEHWEB DE RUEHIN #0211/01 0560928 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 250928Z FEB 09 FM AIT TAIPEI TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0976 INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 8948 RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0398
UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000211
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 ASIA TRIP
Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused February
25 news coverage on former President Chen Shui-bian, who pleaded not
guilty to corruption charges in a pretrial hearing Tuesday; on
Taiwan's sagging economy and on the debate between the ruling and
opposition parties over whether Taiwan should sign a Comprehensive
Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) with China. In terms of
editorials and commentaries, a column in the mass-circulation "Apple
Daily" said it is still too early to rate Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton's recent trip to China as both sides are still at the stage
of "testing the waters." A column in the conservative,
pro-unification, English-language "China Post" hailed Clinton's
visit to China and said that "both countries appear to share a sense
of global responsibility and are willing to work together on the two
main challenges facing the world today: the continuing international
financial crisis as well as climate change." An editorial in the
pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News," however, called
Clinton's move to "de-link human rights from other U.S. concerns" an
"unwise decision." End summary.
A) "Hillary Clinton's Maiden Visit -- Neither Big Talk nor Action"
Apple Daily Publisher James Tu wrote in his column in the
mass-circulation "Apple Daily" [circulation: 520,000] (2/25):
"... U.S.-China relations are essential for both Washington and
Beijing. On the Chinese side, it goes without saying that [Chinese
President] Hu Jintao will take the lead in such relations. For the
United States, however, unless the relationship was personally
dominated by the president himself, such as [former Presidents]
Richard Nixon, George Bush and George W. Bush, it would normally be
handed over to the people that the president trusted most, such as
Henry Kissinger, National Security Advisor to [former] President
Jimmy Carter Zbigniew Brzezinski, and National Security Advisor to
[former] President Bill Clinton Sandy Berger. Since Sino-U.S.
relations are very complicated and have many ramifications, and they
normally involve many agencies, one can hardly control [every
aspect] without adequate authority. Hillary Clinton is a rival that
[U.S. President Barack] Obama had to elevate for sake of solidarity
in the Democratic Party, and she is definitely not one of his
trusted subordinates. Obama has not had time yet to touch on the
China issue, let alone control it. Now is still too early to tell
who will be Obama's trusted subordinates in the future, but in the
end it will not be Hillary Clinton. In that vein, now is too early
to give a high rating to Clinton's visit to China. China's Xinhua
News Agency did not exaggerate it when it addressed Clinton's China
visit as a 'journey to test the waters.' Perhaps it will take a
very long time for both Washington and Beijing to walk out of the
stage of feeling their way [toward a new relationship]."
B) "Clinton's China Trip Focuses on Positive"
Columnist Frank Ching noted in the conservative, pro-unification,
English-language "China Post" [circulation: 30,000] (2/25):
"Hillary Clinton's visit to China -- the most important leg of her
trip to Asia, which included Japan, Indonesia and South Korea --
went off well, in part because the U.S. secretary of state had
indicated publicly ahead of time that differences over human rights
would not be allowed to inhibit progress on other matters. ...
Clinton's pragmatic attitude enabled her not only to demonstrate the
Obama administration's desire to work with China, it also enabled
her to demonstrate the American commitment to human rights without
poking China in the eye. ... No doubt problems will arise in future
but, for now, both countries appear to share a sense of global
responsibility and are willing to work together on the two main
challenges facing the world today: the continuing international
financial crisis as well as climate change. ..."
C) "Clinton's Unwise Choice to Appease China?"
The pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" [circulation:
20,000] editorialized (2/25):
"The first diplomatic excursion by new United States Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton began with expectation and ended in
discouragement for hopes that the new Democratic administration of
President Barack Obama will fulfill its promise to renew American
democratic leadership in the Asia-Pacific region. ... Washington
certainly needs China's cooperation on many issues, including
regional security, energy and climate change and global economics
and finance, but it should also be evident that the willingness of
the PRC to cooperate with the U.S. is limited by the ingrained
suspicion by the Chinese Communist Party regime that the U.S. and
other democracies, including Taiwan, are threats to its expansionist
ambitions and even its survival. ... Unfortunately, Clinton may not
realize that while Washington needs some cooperation from Beijing,
the PRC is even more in need of "cooperation" from the United States
since the dynamism of the Chinese economy is now largely reliant on
foreign investment and access to markets in the United States,
Europe and Japan for its merchandise exports.
"Clinton's unwise decision to de-link human rights from other U.S.
concerns and her failure to insist that Beijing abide by key
universal principles in handling issues such as labor standards,
environmental protection, human rights and Tibet and Taiwan will
send a wrong message to both the world community and Asia.
Unintended side-effects will include the discouragement of activism
for democracy and human rights within China, the granting of Beijing
an even freer hand to throw its military and diplomatic weight,
especially in relation to Taiwan and Tibet, and, ironically, the
erosion of Washington's leverage in bargaining with Beijing on
economic issues. After years during which the Bush administration
sacrificed American democratic values, interests and credibility for
the expediency of his obsessive war on Iraq, the community of
nations in Asia, including Taiwan, need a new American leadership
who will not hand over leadership in Asia to an authoritarian China.
Unfortunately, such leadership has yet to appear."
WANG
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 ASIA TRIP
Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused February
25 news coverage on former President Chen Shui-bian, who pleaded not
guilty to corruption charges in a pretrial hearing Tuesday; on
Taiwan's sagging economy and on the debate between the ruling and
opposition parties over whether Taiwan should sign a Comprehensive
Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) with China. In terms of
editorials and commentaries, a column in the mass-circulation "Apple
Daily" said it is still too early to rate Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton's recent trip to China as both sides are still at the stage
of "testing the waters." A column in the conservative,
pro-unification, English-language "China Post" hailed Clinton's
visit to China and said that "both countries appear to share a sense
of global responsibility and are willing to work together on the two
main challenges facing the world today: the continuing international
financial crisis as well as climate change." An editorial in the
pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News," however, called
Clinton's move to "de-link human rights from other U.S. concerns" an
"unwise decision." End summary.
A) "Hillary Clinton's Maiden Visit -- Neither Big Talk nor Action"
Apple Daily Publisher James Tu wrote in his column in the
mass-circulation "Apple Daily" [circulation: 520,000] (2/25):
"... U.S.-China relations are essential for both Washington and
Beijing. On the Chinese side, it goes without saying that [Chinese
President] Hu Jintao will take the lead in such relations. For the
United States, however, unless the relationship was personally
dominated by the president himself, such as [former Presidents]
Richard Nixon, George Bush and George W. Bush, it would normally be
handed over to the people that the president trusted most, such as
Henry Kissinger, National Security Advisor to [former] President
Jimmy Carter Zbigniew Brzezinski, and National Security Advisor to
[former] President Bill Clinton Sandy Berger. Since Sino-U.S.
relations are very complicated and have many ramifications, and they
normally involve many agencies, one can hardly control [every
aspect] without adequate authority. Hillary Clinton is a rival that
[U.S. President Barack] Obama had to elevate for sake of solidarity
in the Democratic Party, and she is definitely not one of his
trusted subordinates. Obama has not had time yet to touch on the
China issue, let alone control it. Now is still too early to tell
who will be Obama's trusted subordinates in the future, but in the
end it will not be Hillary Clinton. In that vein, now is too early
to give a high rating to Clinton's visit to China. China's Xinhua
News Agency did not exaggerate it when it addressed Clinton's China
visit as a 'journey to test the waters.' Perhaps it will take a
very long time for both Washington and Beijing to walk out of the
stage of feeling their way [toward a new relationship]."
B) "Clinton's China Trip Focuses on Positive"
Columnist Frank Ching noted in the conservative, pro-unification,
English-language "China Post" [circulation: 30,000] (2/25):
"Hillary Clinton's visit to China -- the most important leg of her
trip to Asia, which included Japan, Indonesia and South Korea --
went off well, in part because the U.S. secretary of state had
indicated publicly ahead of time that differences over human rights
would not be allowed to inhibit progress on other matters. ...
Clinton's pragmatic attitude enabled her not only to demonstrate the
Obama administration's desire to work with China, it also enabled
her to demonstrate the American commitment to human rights without
poking China in the eye. ... No doubt problems will arise in future
but, for now, both countries appear to share a sense of global
responsibility and are willing to work together on the two main
challenges facing the world today: the continuing international
financial crisis as well as climate change. ..."
C) "Clinton's Unwise Choice to Appease China?"
The pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" [circulation:
20,000] editorialized (2/25):
"The first diplomatic excursion by new United States Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton began with expectation and ended in
discouragement for hopes that the new Democratic administration of
President Barack Obama will fulfill its promise to renew American
democratic leadership in the Asia-Pacific region. ... Washington
certainly needs China's cooperation on many issues, including
regional security, energy and climate change and global economics
and finance, but it should also be evident that the willingness of
the PRC to cooperate with the U.S. is limited by the ingrained
suspicion by the Chinese Communist Party regime that the U.S. and
other democracies, including Taiwan, are threats to its expansionist
ambitions and even its survival. ... Unfortunately, Clinton may not
realize that while Washington needs some cooperation from Beijing,
the PRC is even more in need of "cooperation" from the United States
since the dynamism of the Chinese economy is now largely reliant on
foreign investment and access to markets in the United States,
Europe and Japan for its merchandise exports.
"Clinton's unwise decision to de-link human rights from other U.S.
concerns and her failure to insist that Beijing abide by key
universal principles in handling issues such as labor standards,
environmental protection, human rights and Tibet and Taiwan will
send a wrong message to both the world community and Asia.
Unintended side-effects will include the discouragement of activism
for democracy and human rights within China, the granting of Beijing
an even freer hand to throw its military and diplomatic weight,
especially in relation to Taiwan and Tibet, and, ironically, the
erosion of Washington's leverage in bargaining with Beijing on
economic issues. After years during which the Bush administration
sacrificed American democratic values, interests and credibility for
the expediency of his obsessive war on Iraq, the community of
nations in Asia, including Taiwan, need a new American leadership
who will not hand over leadership in Asia to an authoritarian China.
Unfortunately, such leadership has yet to appear."
WANG