THE DIRECTOR'S FAREWELL CALL ON FORMER PRESIDENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L TAIPEI 000790 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/30/2019 TAGS: PGOV PINR TW CH JA SUBJECT: THE DIRECTOR'S FAREWELL CALL ON FORMER PRESIDENT LEE TENG-HUI Classified By: The Director for reasons 1.4(b/d) ¶1. (C) Summary. Improvements in Taiwan-China relations have come at the expense of Taiwan's traditionally close relations with the United States and other partners, and of the island's long-term viability as a sovereign state, Lee Teng-hui warned the Director during his June 26 farewell call on the former President. Ultimately, Lee said, maintaining the status quo would best serve Taiwan's interests. Lee criticized the extended pre-trial incarceration of his successor, Chen Shui-bian, while also attacking what he labelled Chen's "imperial" tendencies. End Summary. ¶2. (C) On June 26, the Director paid a farewell call on former Lee Teng-hui, Taiwan's first democratically-elected President (and, as Lee observed, the first democratically-elected President in the 5,000-year history of Chinese civilization). Although the 86 year-old politician is recovering from pneumonia, he expressed optimism that he will return to a relatively active schedule now dominated by golf and family. The pro-independence Taiwan Solidarity Union party Lee founded in 2001 after being expelled from the KMT is essentially moribund, but the former President remains interested in Taiwan politics and international relations. Ma's China Policy Hurting Taiwan's Other Ties -------------- ¶3. (C) Lee criticized President Ma Ying-jeou for pursuing a cross-Strait policy that has both weakened Taiwan's standing with its traditional partners and its long-term ability to stand up to PRC bullying. Ma's efforts to reduce tensions with China, Lee asserted, had damaged Taipei's standing with Tokyo and Washington. The Director responded that Washington is comfortable with the direction and pace of cross-Strait ties. The Director asked Lee whether the recent comment by Masaki Saito, Japan's chief representative in Taipei, that Taiwan's legal status is "still unresolved" was a signal of official Japanese concern about the Ma administration's policies. (Note: This controversy stems from the 1951 Treaty of San Francisco, in which Japan relinquished any claim to its former colony without specifying which country would assume sovereignty over the island.) Lee, who grew up speaking Japanese and still maintains close ties with officials and scholars in Tokyo, said Japan believes the cold shoulder the Ma administration has give Saito since his April remarks is "unfriendly," but did not suggest that Saito's remarks reflect broader Japanese dissatisfaction with Ma's China policy. ¶4. (C) More urgently, Lee said, Ma's policy of deepening Taiwan's economic integration with China will make the island overly dependent on the PRC. Ultimately, Lee said, Taiwan must look after its own interests. If it is too beholden to China, its sovereignty is in danger. For now, he argued, maintaining the status quo is the only policy that can protect Taiwan's status and interests. Chen: Guilty but Unfairly Detained -------------- ¶5. (C) The pre-trial detention of former President Chen Shui-bian (now entering its seventh month) is "crazy" and "unreasonable," Lee said. If released, Chen would not flee Taiwan and continuing to hold him is bad for Taiwan's democracy, its international image and for the status of the office. Nevertheless, Lee said, Chen clearly was guilty of serious crimes. At the heart of the issue, is China's imperial system. Chen saw himself as above the laws that restrict the President from using state funds for personal reasons or from "raiding" funds allocated for offices under the purview of the Premier. Lee added that Ma also suffered from this failing, saying that the current President "doesn't understand the common man." Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) Now more of an historical figure than an influential political player, Lee's observations about Taiwan political life and, particularly, Taiwan's relations with Japan, nevertheless retain some value. There is no small amount of irony to his comments about the imperiousness of his two successors, however. Within the KMT circles that elevated Lee to the top of Taiwan's political system, Lee's desire to handpick Lien Chan as his successor is widely seen as the reason James Soong left the party in 2000, splitting the KMT vote and giving DPP candidate Chen Shui-bian the victory. YOUNG