MEDIA REACTION: AFGHAN ELECTION, DALAI LAMA, NORTH KOREA

UNCLAS BEIJING 002425 DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/CM, EAP/PA, EAP/PD, C HQ PACOM FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR (J007) SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL ECON KMDR OPRC CH SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: AFGHAN ELECTION, DALAI LAMA, NORTH KOREA -------------- Editorial Quotes -------------- ¶1. AFGHAN ELECTION "Afghans lost in the elections (pg 5)" The official Xinhua News Agency international news publication International Herald Leader (Guoji Xianqu Daobao)(08/24): "Afghanistan's election is an important step for the west's 'democratic example' in Afghanistan. Citizens of Kabul have said that they don't like the Americans, but if they leave, Afghanistan will quickly fall into a civil war. The Afghan military is unable to counter the Taliban armed forces and defend their country alone. It is almost impossible for the Afghan government to resolve the country's security, economic, social, and drug issues all by itself. Afghanistan has successfully "walked out of the most dangerous election in the world"; however, it cannot "walk out of the embrace of the United States." For many years in the future, Afghanistan will sway between independence and reliance on U.S. assistance." ¶2. DALAI LAMA "There is vigilance needed regarding the Dalai Lama's cooperation with "democracy organization movements" overseas (pg 14)" The official Communist Party international news publication Global Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(08/24): "During the recent, first-ever "Tibet-Han conference," some "overseas democracy movement organizations" approached supporters of Tibetan independence. Persons from those organizations have the face of the Han nationality. By cooperating with them, the Dalai Lama can make the false impression that even the Han nationality supports Tibet independence. Due to the upcoming 60th Anniversary, the Dalai's clique has been seeking opportunities to create chaos, but all have failed. Since they need China's help, western powers have all withdrawn their support for the clique. Therefore the Tibet independence separatists are in great need of other sources of external support in order to fight against China. These overseas groups have allegedly allied in support of "Tibet-Han unification," but in reality they are separatist organizations. China should be vigilant about their actions." ¶3. NORTH KOREA "Can sunshine illuminate the Korean peninsula? (pg 8)" The official Communist Party People's Daily (Renmin Ribao)(08/22): "Can the 'sunshine policy' brought forward by Kim Dae-jung continue to affect the Korean peninsula? Recently NORTH KOREA has issued 'signals of reconciliation,' seeking the improvement of the North-South Korean and U.S.-North Korean relations by sending a condolence delegation to South KOREA and through other gestures. However, the situation on the Korean peninsula is still not optimistic. Hesitation by the U.S., South KOREA and NORTH KOREA has proved that there are still many uncertainties on the peninsula. Experts argue that the direction that the NORTH Korean nuclear issue will take does not depend on North-South Korean relations, but rather on U.S.-North Korean relations. The Obama administration's policy towards NORTH KOREA is still unclear. One thing that the U.S. is sure about right now is that they must return to the Six-Party Talks; but NORTH KOREA insists on direct talks with the U.S. The struggling U.S.-North Korean relationship has placed the North Korean nuclear issue in a difficult situation and also created uncertainties in North-South Korean relations." HUNTSMAN