MEDIA REACTION: IRAN

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000721 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/P, EAP/PD - NIDA EMMONS DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: IRAN Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused news coverage June 17 on the murder of two Taiwan businessmen in mainland China Monday; on the upcoming KMT chairman election; and on a statement co-signed by around 150 media academics in protest at the Want Want China Times Group for threatening lawsuits against reporters and commentators who criticized the conglomerate's acquisition of the China Times Group last November. In terms of editorials and commentaries, a column in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" discussed the chaos in Iran in the wake of its presidential election. The article said that, despite the grave disappointment of the United States and other countries at the results of Iran's presidential election, Iran's democracy remains a mirror for totalitarian countries in the Middle East. A column in the centrist, KMT-leaning "China Times," on the other hand, described Iran as now standing at a political crossroad. End summary. A) "A Rogue or a Model Student After All?" Apple Daily Publisher James Tu wrote in his column in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" [circulation: 520,000] (6/17): "The results of Iran's presidential election have disappointed many people. Key government officials of various countries felt frustrated, as they originally expected that a [more] moderate president would be elected in Iran; voters in Iran, particularly those who aspired for change, were even more despairing. ... The disappointed United States refused to acknowledge the election results, but what else can it do? Is [U.S. President Barack] Obama planning to close his door and retrieve the olive branch that he has just proffered? Is it possible that the victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was entirely out of [the United States'] expectations? If the answer is yes, then the U.S. intelligence system as well as hundreds of [American] experts in the academic circle specializing in the Middle East must be truly derelict of their duties. ... "Campaign rallies in Iran were full of excitement and passion, and the supporters were glowing with enthusiasm. The intensity of the [presidential] race [in Iran] was not inferior to that in any other mature democracy, whereas the 85 percent of voter turnout rate was much higher than that in the major elections ina majority of countries. Despite its limitations, Iran's democracy was far ahead of other Middle Eastern countries. For Western countries such as the United States, many of their allies in the Middle East either hold no elections at all (such as Saudi Arabia),or their elections are a mere formality (such as Egypt). Given time, the limited democracy in Iran, if it does not regress, will have a profound impact on the entire region. Isn't it true that the United States hopes to promote democracy in the Middle East? Regardless of its immaturity and insufficiency, democracy in Iran remains a mirror for the totalitarian nations of the Middle East." B) "Post-Election Iran Has Become a Time Bomb" Columnist Lin Po-wen wrote in the centrist, KMT-leaning "China Times" [circulation: 120,000] (6/17): "... Iran is standing at a political crossroads. Should Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continue to rule [Iran] and insist on pursuing nuclear weapons, Israel will surely bomb the nuclear facilities in Iran. Israel, under the leadership of its bellicose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will certainly walk toward the brinkmanship of war, and Iran will very likely be his touchstone. Should the chaos in Iran caused by its presidential election continue, the prospects for this Persian empire will truly be worrisome." YOUNG