MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-JAPAN-TAIWAN RELATIONS, XINJIANG

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000829 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: U.S.-JAPAN-TAIWAN RELATIONS, XINJIANG ¶1. Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused news coverage July 8 on a Tuesday Taipei County report saying that traces of arsenic were found in the frying oil of two of the county's McDonald's branches and one Domino's Pizza branch; on the escalating riots in China's Xinjiang region; and on the Ma Ying-jeou administration's efforts to fight corruption. In terms of editorials and commentaries, an editorial in the pro-unification "United Daily News" discussed Japan's planned troop deployment at Yonaguni Island. The article said both the United States and Japan need to adjust their cross-Strait policies so as to cope with the new developments going on in the Taiwan Strait. With regard to the riots in Xinjiang, a column in the pro-independence "Liberty Times" and an editorial in the pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" both criticized the Ma administration for making no response as of now to the developments in Xinjiang. End summary. ¶2. U.S.-Japan-Taiwan Relations A) "Let's Talk Starting from Japan's Plan to Station Military at Yonaguni Island" The pro-unification "United Daily News" [circulation: 400,000] editorialized (7/8): "Japan's Defense Ministry confirmed that it will likely station military on Yonaguni Island, which is located in the areas off [Taiwan's] Yilan [County]. The move reminded the world to pay attention to how Japan will cope with the new cross-Strait situation in the wake of Taiwan's second power transition in 2008. It also reminded people that the United States is also facing the same situation. ... There are two major characteristics when it comes to the cross-Strait relations since [mid] 2008: First, [the possibility for] military confrontation has dropped. ... Second, economic interaction is on the rise. "Such a development has not only influenced Taiwan and mainland China, each on one side of the Taiwan Strait, but has also had an impact on the United States' and Japan's relations with both sides of the Taiwan Strait. First, the reduced [possibility] of military confrontation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait is akin to meaning that the United States and Japan have lost their political leverage when they seek to interfere with cross-Strait matters. The previous strategic thinking that 'emergencies in areas surrounding �0A;Japan' also include 'emergencies in the Taiwan [Strait]' will likely become an unfounded statement. Second, as a result of the warming economic interaction in the Taiwan Strait, the major risk that Taiwan is facing is no longer [the possibility that] it will be annexed by Beijing by force, but that Taiwan will lose its economic independence under the strong economic impact of mainland China. Both the United States and Japan will thus have to adjust their future cross-Strait policies in order to cope with such a new development. ... "As a matter of fact, the biggest possible common ground that will be shared by the four sides -- Taipei, Beijing, Washington and Tokyo -- is the following two concepts: 'peace' and 'economics.' It will meet the fundamental interests of all sides if Taiwan will be able to retain its democracy with a certain level of economic independence, and surely such a development will serve Beijing's interests. Both the United States and Japan should consider advancing Taiwan's role in economics and trade by means such as signing a free trade agreement with Taiwan. Beijing should welcome such a practice so as to make Taiwan's democracy more willing to accept a more constructive and dignified cross-Strait relationship. ..." ¶3. Xinjiang A) "Under the Gun Barrels of China ..." The "Free Talks" column in the pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 700,000] wrote (7/8): "... Taiwan people must wake up immediately; if Taiwan fails to secure its sovereignty and is annexed by China, the tragic episodes happening in Tibet and Xinjiang today will be the ending Taiwan will face tomorrow. Will Ma Ying-jeou continue to praise China's progress in human rights and act as an accomplice to the Chinese regime's suppression of its people?" B) "Xinjiang and Taiwan's Silence" The pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" [circulation: 30,000] editorialized (7/8): "The Chinese government has its admirers for being able to temper diplomatic difficulties by spreading money through the region and integrating its economic structure with the US and other major economies. But when it comes to managing regions dominated -- now or in the past -- in population terms by non-Han peoples, China remains in a political Stone Age in which brutality, torture, terror, unchallenged propaganda, racism, colonialism and media blackouts are essential tools of governance. China's 'peaceful rise' slogan is usually taken to refer to Beijing's relations with the Asian region and the rest of the world. The term has had little currency when it comes to domestic developments and conflicts. ... "Beijing's decades-long exploitation of Xinjiang's people and their natural resources cannot continue indefinitely without escalating conflict. Yet the problem has been worsened -- not only by irresponsible levels of Han immigration but also Beijing's inability to allow democratic reforms that would empower and legitimize the role of Uighurs outside the party-state nexus. The consequence of this is a problem that has plagued Muslim societies the world over: When autocrats lock up and smear moderate opponents with terms like 'splittists' and 'terrorists,' the only space left is for radicals and genuine terrorists. In this way, Beijing helps to bestow upon its citizenry a self-fulfilling prophecy of a militant insurgency nightmare and possible future links with Islamic terrorists to the west. It is a diabolically stupid situation, and almost all of it is Beijing's making. "The response of President Ma Ying-jeou's administration to developments in Xinjiang has been immensely disappointing. Ma's Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) continues to state that Xinjiang is Chinese territory, but this does not demand that the party or the government hide in the wings as the Chinese Communist Party runs roughshod over the Uighurs. It would be wrong to infer from their silence that Taiwan's government and the KMT are complicit in the violence in Xinjiang. But by saying nothing as atrocities accelerate, both are suggesting that the fate of the Uighurs -- whom they profess to be compatriots -- is of no consequence, and certainly not worth damaging the progress of an economic accord with Beijing. ... Despicable acts are made more unbearable by the silence of those who seek benefits from oppressors. From now on, the Taiwanese government's response will have to be strong and clear if it is to make up for its extraordinary cynicism and its denial of the human rights and dignity of China's Uighur minority." WANG