Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09AITTAIPEI768
2009-06-25 09:38:00
UNCLASSIFIED
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
how-toVZCZCXYZ0011 RR RUEHWEB DE RUEHIN #0768 1760938 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 250938Z JUN 09 FM AIT TAIPEI TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1831 INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 9265 RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0699
UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000768
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: NORTH KOREA
Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused June 25
news coverage on the aftermath of a recent Taiwan government
decision to upgrade and merge several cities and counties; on the
continuous probe into the legal cases involving former President
Chen Shui-bian; on the Cabinet's order to decriminalize prostitution
Wednesday; and on the Department of Health's plan to announce the
opening of the Taiwan market to U.S. beef. In terms of editorials
and commentaries, an op-ed piece in the pro-independence,
English-language "Taipei Times," written by a Taipei-based Western
columnist, discussed China's role in the Six Party talks. The
article said Beijing is "exploiting its ambiguous relationship with
Pyongyang" because "it helps bolster its image as a positive force
in the region while it gains concessions from the U.S. and others on
core issues such as human rights and, above all, Taiwan." End
summary.
"Beijing Makes Itself Indispensable"
J. Michael Cole, a writer based in Taipei, opined in the
pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" [circulation:
30,000] (6/25):
"Ever since the Agreed Framework signed in 1994 between the
administration of former US president Bill Clinton and North Korea
crumbled in 2002, Beijing -- Pyongyang's principal backer -- has
successfully positioned itself as an indispensable ally in global
efforts to denuclearize its neighbor. Throughout the years, China
has come to be seen as a convener of the Six Party talks and, given
its relations with Pyongyang, as a lever to keep Kim Jong-il's
regime from sparking war in the Korean Peninsula. China's
involvement in the Six Party talks has conveniently dovetailed with
its attempts to reassure its neighbors - and the West - that it is
rising peacefully, and that as an emerging power it is ready to act
as a responsible stakeholder. At the same time, Beijing has also
managed to serve as a buffer and to mitigate international responses
to Pyongyang's long streak of seemingly irrational brinkmanship.
For both sides in the conflict, therefore, China has increasingly
become an indispensable moderator, a counterbalance reining in North
Korea when it threatens to act out of bounds, and pacifying jittery
South Korea, Japan and the US when Pyongyang conducts nuclear tests
or launches ballistic missiles.
"... Beijing is unlikely to have assumed its role as moderator out
of altruism, and its position has been beneficial to its image. In
the process it has managed to extract concessions in a way that is
reminiscent of the gains it made when the administration of former
US president Richard Nixon sought its help in the Cold War (to
isolate the Soviet Union) and the Vietnam War (to stop supporting
North Vietnamese),a precedent that should not escape our attention.
Washington, meanwhile, has helped to reinforce Beijing's image of
itself as an indispensable ally and become unhealthily dependent on
Chinese participation in the disarmament talks, often at the expense
of regional allies. ...
"Long used to a style of diplomacy in which political gifts come at
a price, Beijing is fully aware of the West's growing dependence on
it regarding North Korea and has used its position to soften
Washington's support for Taiwan. This could explain the George W.
Bush administration's volte-face after 2001, drifting from strong
support for Taiwan to nearly constant condemnation of the Chen
Shui-bian administration. (The timing of Bush's change of heart on
Taiwan and escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula could not be
more apt.) ... Many experts have drawn the conclusion that despite
close diplomatic relations and economic ties, Beijing has been
unable to influence the North's decisions on its nuclear program. A
less explored possibility is that Beijing is exploiting its
ambiguous relationship with Pyongyang to create some sort of status
quo in which the North Korea nuclear issue is never fully resolved,
because an end to the conflict would severely diminish Beijing's
ability to bargain with the international community. ...
"It is evident, therefore, that the perpetuation of the status quo
is in Beijing's advantage, as it helps bolster its image of a
positive force in the region while it gains concessions from the US
and others on core issues such as human rights and, above all,
Taiwan. This is not to say that China relishes a nuclear North
Korea that could spark a destabilizing war in the Korean Peninsula.
But if it manages its neighbor well - not allowing it to spark a war
while preventing the international community from disarming it,
effectively playing one camp against the other - Pyongyang can be
used by Beijing as a precious instrument to buttress the foundations
of its rise while achieving its political objectives. Ironically,
over-reliance on China by Japan, South Korea and the US on the North
Korean nuclear issue could make it less likely that the problem will
be resolved, and more probable that they will end up giving too much
to ensure that China continues its 'indispensable' role."
YOUNG
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: NORTH KOREA
Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused June 25
news coverage on the aftermath of a recent Taiwan government
decision to upgrade and merge several cities and counties; on the
continuous probe into the legal cases involving former President
Chen Shui-bian; on the Cabinet's order to decriminalize prostitution
Wednesday; and on the Department of Health's plan to announce the
opening of the Taiwan market to U.S. beef. In terms of editorials
and commentaries, an op-ed piece in the pro-independence,
English-language "Taipei Times," written by a Taipei-based Western
columnist, discussed China's role in the Six Party talks. The
article said Beijing is "exploiting its ambiguous relationship with
Pyongyang" because "it helps bolster its image as a positive force
in the region while it gains concessions from the U.S. and others on
core issues such as human rights and, above all, Taiwan." End
summary.
"Beijing Makes Itself Indispensable"
J. Michael Cole, a writer based in Taipei, opined in the
pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" [circulation:
30,000] (6/25):
"Ever since the Agreed Framework signed in 1994 between the
administration of former US president Bill Clinton and North Korea
crumbled in 2002, Beijing -- Pyongyang's principal backer -- has
successfully positioned itself as an indispensable ally in global
efforts to denuclearize its neighbor. Throughout the years, China
has come to be seen as a convener of the Six Party talks and, given
its relations with Pyongyang, as a lever to keep Kim Jong-il's
regime from sparking war in the Korean Peninsula. China's
involvement in the Six Party talks has conveniently dovetailed with
its attempts to reassure its neighbors - and the West - that it is
rising peacefully, and that as an emerging power it is ready to act
as a responsible stakeholder. At the same time, Beijing has also
managed to serve as a buffer and to mitigate international responses
to Pyongyang's long streak of seemingly irrational brinkmanship.
For both sides in the conflict, therefore, China has increasingly
become an indispensable moderator, a counterbalance reining in North
Korea when it threatens to act out of bounds, and pacifying jittery
South Korea, Japan and the US when Pyongyang conducts nuclear tests
or launches ballistic missiles.
"... Beijing is unlikely to have assumed its role as moderator out
of altruism, and its position has been beneficial to its image. In
the process it has managed to extract concessions in a way that is
reminiscent of the gains it made when the administration of former
US president Richard Nixon sought its help in the Cold War (to
isolate the Soviet Union) and the Vietnam War (to stop supporting
North Vietnamese),a precedent that should not escape our attention.
Washington, meanwhile, has helped to reinforce Beijing's image of
itself as an indispensable ally and become unhealthily dependent on
Chinese participation in the disarmament talks, often at the expense
of regional allies. ...
"Long used to a style of diplomacy in which political gifts come at
a price, Beijing is fully aware of the West's growing dependence on
it regarding North Korea and has used its position to soften
Washington's support for Taiwan. This could explain the George W.
Bush administration's volte-face after 2001, drifting from strong
support for Taiwan to nearly constant condemnation of the Chen
Shui-bian administration. (The timing of Bush's change of heart on
Taiwan and escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula could not be
more apt.) ... Many experts have drawn the conclusion that despite
close diplomatic relations and economic ties, Beijing has been
unable to influence the North's decisions on its nuclear program. A
less explored possibility is that Beijing is exploiting its
ambiguous relationship with Pyongyang to create some sort of status
quo in which the North Korea nuclear issue is never fully resolved,
because an end to the conflict would severely diminish Beijing's
ability to bargain with the international community. ...
"It is evident, therefore, that the perpetuation of the status quo
is in Beijing's advantage, as it helps bolster its image of a
positive force in the region while it gains concessions from the US
and others on core issues such as human rights and, above all,
Taiwan. This is not to say that China relishes a nuclear North
Korea that could spark a destabilizing war in the Korean Peninsula.
But if it manages its neighbor well - not allowing it to spark a war
while preventing the international community from disarming it,
effectively playing one camp against the other - Pyongyang can be
used by Beijing as a precious instrument to buttress the foundations
of its rise while achieving its political objectives. Ironically,
over-reliance on China by Japan, South Korea and the US on the North
Korean nuclear issue could make it less likely that the problem will
be resolved, and more probable that they will end up giving too much
to ensure that China continues its 'indispensable' role."
YOUNG