MEDIA REACTION: U.S. FOREIGN POLICY

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000478 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. FOREIGN POLICY Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused April 21 news coverage on the Taiwan prosecutors' probe into the alleged bribery scandals involving senior military officials; on Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan's controversial remarks on democracy in Taiwan during the Boao Forum; and on Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng's call for including the Fifth Freedom of flight rights, commonly know as the "connecting flight" to a third destination, in the upcoming third round negotiation between Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and China's Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS). In terms of editorials and commentaries, a column in the centrist, KMT-leaning "China Times" discussed the allegedly soft posture of U.S. President Barack Obama in his interactions with other countries lately. However, the article concluded that there is no way the United States will change its principles in foreign policy just because of its change of president. End summary. "U.S. Foreign Policy Principles Will Unlikely Be Altered Because of the Change of the President" The "International Lookout" column in the centrist, KMT-leaning "China Times" [circulation: 150,000] wrote (4/21): "The United Nations Racism Conference kicked off in Geneva April 20, and the United States announced that it would boycott the meeting. Judging from such a development, it is evident that deep down inside, the United States will not change its foreign policy principles just because [President Barack] Obama has assumed office. ... Has Israel lessened its efforts in putting down the Palestinian people over the past eight years? Not only has it not, but the situation has even gotten worse. One could easily prove it by looking at the recent attacks Israel has launched at Gaza using the excuse of wiping out 'Hamas,' causing a large number of casualties among civilians. Was this racism or not? Anyone with a clear conscience will certainly not say no. ... "Is there racism in the United States itself? This is also an ironclad fact; one could easily tell by looking at the status of black people in the United States. African-Americans and Asian-Americans residing in the United States surely know very clearly that it is unlikely that such a racist mentality will be eliminated simply by the election of an African-American president. Obama has tried his best to lower his posture, and it was evident that he did not have an arrogant posture in the Summit of the Americas, as his predecessors did. But [what was different] was only the posture, and in reality there is no way that U.S. foreign policy principles will be changed. As an African- American, Obama still protects Israel and decided to boycott the UN Conference on Racism. It is clear that, once the principles of a country's foreign policy are formed, it is very difficult to change them just because of a change of president." YOUNG