MEDIA REACTION: NORTH KOREA, U.S.-CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000897

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, U.S.-CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS


1. Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused news
coverage July 25-27 on the 2009 World Games, which closed
successfully in Kaohsiung on Sunday; on President Ma Ying-jeou's
election as KMT Chairman Sunday; and on the developments in
cross-Strait relations. In terms of editorials and commentaries, a
column in the KMT-leaning "China Times" discussed North Korea and
said the "normalization of relations" between Washington and
Pyongyang means nothing but political jargon when the two share no
mutual trust at all. With regard to U.S.-China-Taiwan relations, an
editorial in the pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times"
welcomed U.S. President Barack Obama's nomination of Republican Utah
Governor Jon Huntsman as the next U.S. ambassador to China. The
editorial expressed hopes that that Huntsman, who said he is
"personally invested in the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait
relations," will be prepared to "make a candid assessment on
cross-Strait pacts between the Communists and the KMT government
that are potentially injurious" to Taiwan. End summary.


2. North Korea

"'Normalization of Relations' between the United States and North
Korea Is Merely Political Jargon"

"The [recent annual] meeting of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers
originally had no intention to discuss the nuclear issue on the
Korean Peninsula, because the peninsula is not in the Southeast
Asian region and the ASEAN nations can do nothing about it. But
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talked animatedly about the
Korean Peninsula nuclear issue [during the ASEAN annual meeting],
which even triggered mutual verbal abuse between her and Pyongyang.
The so-called [proposed] 'comprehensive package' has become useless
before it was fully exposed. ...

"The United States regards 'normalization of relations' as a kind of
reward, or a kind of charity. If Pyongyang were able to destroy
totally its existing nuclear missiles and facilities and promise
that it would no longer develop such weapons, Washington would then
establish diplomatic ties with it. But it will be a separate issue
as to how the relations [between the two nations] are faring after
they have diplomatic ties. Just take a look at the fact that the
United States had already removed Pyongyang from its blacklist of
'state sponsors of terrorism,' but then Congress suggested that
Pyongyang be included in the list again. Isn't it possible that
[the two countries] can sever their relations after they have
established formal diplomatic ties? Pyongyang will not be so stupid
as to be fooled [by Washington].

"Pyongyang, [on the other hand,] views normalization of its
relations [with Washington] as a beginning to resolve their
bilateral disputes. Once the United States and North Korea
establish formal diplomatic ties, they can resolve the nuclear issue
via bilateral talks, bypassing the 'Six Party talks.' Pyongyang
will then determine its next step depending on the domestic
political climate of the United States. In that vein, once both
sides fail to reach any agreement and sever diplomatic ties,
Pyongyang will have nothing to lose. But Washington [is too smart]
to swallow the bait, either. As a result, given the circumstances
when there is no mutual trust between the two countries,
'normalization of relations' truly has little value other than being
merely political jargon."


3. U.S.-China-Taiwan Relations

"A Likely Envoy with a Clear Message"

The pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" [circulation:
30,000] editorialized (7/25):

"The likely appointment of Republican Utah Governor Jon Huntsman as
the next US ambassador to China is an intriguing development, and
certainly welcome as far as Taiwan is concerned. "Amid increasingly
aggressive comments by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on
Pyongyang's brinkmanship, Huntsman's emergence as the probable next
envoy to China sends another signal that the US is beginning to
reassert itself and make up for a period of Asia policy neglect that
emboldened not only North Korea and Myanmar but also Chinese
militarism. ...

"For people in Taiwan who support a democratic state anchored in
principles of self-determination, the importance of the issue should
not be overstated. It is up to the pro-independence side of
politics to continue communicating with the Americans through the
American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and through channels in the US.
This is especially important now that AIT Director Stephen Young is
ending his term. It is essential that his replacement receive a
more professional and cordial reception than awaited Douglas Paal,
whose poor relationship with the then-Democratic Progressive Party
government represented a modern-day nadir in Taiwan-US relations.

"The pro-China administration of President Ma Ying-jeou, however,
may feel a little uneasy at the thought of Huntsman, a former
Taiwan-based Mormon evangelist, being 'personally invested in the
peaceful resolution of cross-strait differences, in a way that
respects the wishes of the people on both Taiwan and the mainland,'
as he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday.
Huntsman will be all too aware of the Chinese Nationalist Party's
(KMT) grim past, and his background as a politician and his personal
characteristics point to a straight shooter, a man willing to live
up to his promise of delivering a 'hard-headed realist' approach to
US-China ties. It is to be hoped that, notwithstanding the
inevitable softening of language that comes with diplomatic
postings, Huntsman will be prepared to make a candid assessment on
cross-strait pacts between the Communists and the KMT government
that are potentially injurious to Taiwanese."

WANG