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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0340
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5242
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 0026
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RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 9347
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RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1746
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RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
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RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 TAIPEI 001790 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2016 
TAGS: PREL ECCT PARM MTCR WHO TBIO IR TW
SUBJECT: TAIWAN FOREIGN MINISTER ON HIZBALLAH, IRAN, AND WHO 
 
REF: RYAN-TO-YOUNG E-MAIL MAY 23 2006 
 
Classified By: AIT Director Stephen M. Young. Reason(s): 
1.4 (B/D) 
 
¶1.  (S)  Summary.  Taiwan Foreign Minister James Huang told 
the Director that Taiwan will respect U.S. sensitivities 
regarding both Hizballah and Iran.  His unannounced visit to 
Lebanon in April was intended to establish friendly relations 
and explore commercial opportunities.  The meeting with a 
Hizballah leader at a reception was unplanned and unexpected. 
 Taiwan has put on hold its plan to establish a trade Office 
in Tehran in deference to U.S. concerns.  End Summary. 
 
Taiwan and Hizballah 
-------------------- 
 
¶2.  (S) Israeli Representative to Taiwan Ruth Kahanoff 
requested a meeting with the Director on May 22 to discuss 
Israel's concerns about contact between Taiwan and Hizballah 
in Lebanon.  On the tail end of his trip to Africa in early 
April, Taiwan Foreign Minister James Huang paid a secret 
visit to Lebanon where he was hosted by Lebanese FM Fawzi 
Salukh, according to Kahanoff.  The Israeli office here 
learned that during his visit, FM Huang was introduced to 
Hizballah Secretary General Nassrullah.  Officials at the 
West Asian Department of the Taiwan MOFA confirmed Huang's 
meeting with Nassrullah to Kahanoff, but they dismissed it as 
merely a courtesy call suggested by FM Salukh. 
 
¶3.  (S) However, Kahanoff said she later learned from an 
unidentified country representative in our unofficial corps 
here that garrulous NSC Deputy Secretary General Parris Chang 
had bragged to him that Taiwan might sell certain sensitive 
equipment, including night vision devices, to Lebanon (she 
speculated possibly directly to Hizballah but couldn't 
further confirm that point) as part of an attempt to curry 
favor, and perhaps lead to a diplomatic breakthrough. 
Kahanoff subsequently wrote a letter to FM Huang raising 
concerns about his meeting with Hizballah, stressing to him 
that Hizballah has been designated by both Israel and the 
U.S. as a terrorist organization with close links to Iran. 
That letter was sent before President Chen's early May trip 
to Latin America during which a hoped-for transit stop in 
Lebanon fell through; it remains unanswered.  Kahanoff 
expressed hope that AIT might separately approach the Taiwan 
FM to convey our common concerns about Hizballah 
 
¶4.  (S) Following coordination with the Department, the 
Director delivered talking points on Hizballah (ref e-mail, 
text provided para 10) to FM Huang on May 23.  Huang 
explained that the purpose of his unannounced April visit to 
Lebanon had been to understand the regional situation, 
discuss cooperative projects, and explore potential markets 
there for Taiwan goods and possible sources for energy 
supplies.  In Beirut, he met with the Interior Minister and 
"a few foreign friends."  He did not meet with the Foreign 
Minister, whom he understood to be close to Hizballah, nor 
had he planned to meet with any Hizballah officials.  His 
meeting with Hizballah leader Nassrullah at a reception in 
Beirut, Huang said, had been unplanned and unexpected.  Huang 
stressed that he understood the special U.S. sensitivities 
regarding Hizballah and emphasized that his initiative in 
Lebanon "will by no means challenge U.S. policy."  His 
Lebanon visit, he reiterated, was intended only to establish 
friendly relations and to explore commercial opportunities, 
especially securing product markets and energy supplies, 
explaining that Taiwan "does not want to put all of our eggs 
in one basket," China. 
 
Taiwan Representative Office in Iran 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶5.  (S) FM Huang then raised Taiwan's desire to establish a 
representative office in Iran, noting that he had discussed 
this issue with the U.S. in February.  Taiwan concluded an 
 
TAIPEI 00001790  002 OF 003 
 
 
agreement with Iran a year ago to establish a Taiwan trade 
office in Tehran, because Taiwan purchases some USD 2 billion 
of products from Iran each year and because Iran represents a 
potentially huge market for Taiwan products.  The only reason 
Taiwan had not proceeded to open an office in Iran, Huang 
explained, was because of U.S. concerns, though he was not 
sure whether the U.S. had ever specifically requested Taiwan 
not to open a trade office in Iran.  Although he understood 
the timing for opening an office in Iran is particularly 
sensitive now, Huang argued that if Taiwan could establish a 
trade office in Tehran, it could cooperate with Washington by 
exchanging information and by supporting the U.S. policy of 
peaceful transformation in Iran. 
 
¶6.  (S) The Director expressed U.S. appreciation for the 
close cooperation between AIT and the Taiwan NSC and National 
Security Bureau (NSB) in working to prevent Iranian 
exploitation of Taiwan's open market and high tech 
capabilities.  He stressed the importance of staying vigilant 
for Iranian government or industry efforts to obtain Taiwan 
high tech items that might contribute to development of 
missiles and WMD. 
 
Positive Face on Transit 
------------------------ 
 
¶7.  (C) FM Huang pointed to his interview in the current 
issue of "The Journalist" magazine (no. 1002), in which he 
gave a detailed account of President Chen's transits on his 
trip to Latin America.  He pointed out that he explained the 
flight westward, vice eastward via Alaska, as intended to 
avoid embarrassment to Taiwan and the U.S. and as an 
opportunity to explore diplomatic initiatives in other 
regions.  The Director responded that his own public comments 
have been in the same vein, emphasizing that U.S.-Taiwan ties 
are strong and have not been damaged and that we are looking 
forward to enhancing cooperation with Taiwan. 
 
Taiwan at WHO 
------------- 
 
¶8.  (C) The Director expressed appreciation for Taiwan's 
cooperative attitude on the WHO, in particular its 
International Health Regulations (IHR) announcement and its 
stance at the WHA yesterday.  Noting support from Canada and 
New Zealand for Taiwan WHO participation, he stressed that 
the U.S. desires to work with Taiwan to enhance its active 
participation in WHO activities.  Huang responded that Taiwan 
had been surprised by the relatively low-key PRC behavior in 
Geneva, noting that "We were hoping the PRC would react in 
the traditional way." 
 
PRC Squeezing Taiwan's International Space 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶9.  (C) PRC diplomacy is not always quite so nuanced, FM 
Huang continued, pointing to PRC FM Li Zhaoxing's May 18 
meeting with the foreign ministers of four of Taiwan's allies 
in Mexico City -- a heavy-handed effort "to undermine our 
position in Central America."  At the meeting, Li accused the 
four FMs and their countries of violating the "one China 
policy" and hurting the PRC, which he followed with a rather 
clumsy charm offensive.  Taiwan, Huang noted wryly, "is 
fortunate to have Li Zhaoxing as PRC Foreign Minister." 
 
Talking Points Presented to Foreign Minister 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶10.  (S) The demarche talking points Director delivered to FM 
Huang as directed by ref e-mail were as follows: 
 
-- Hizballah is a designated foreign terrorist organization. 
Before 9/11, Hizballah was responsible for more American 
deaths than any other terrorist organization in the world. 
 
-- The Lebanese Government headed by Prime Minister Siniora 
 
TAIPEI 00001790  003 OF 003 
 
 
is working hard to reassert sovereignty and control 
throughout the country following Syrian military withdrawal 
in April 2005.  The GOL made a decision to disarm Palestinian 
militias outside refugee camps within six months and the 
ongoing "national dialogue" is currently discussing the 
status of Hizballah's arms. 
 
-- The international community has repeatedly called for 
Hizballah's disarmament through a series of UN Security 
Council resolutions, including UNSCR 1559 and 1680. 
 
-- We urge you to avoid meeting with members of Hizballah and 
restrict your meetings with Lebanese officials to those 
legitimately elected by the Lebanese people.  Until Hizballah 
renounces violence and disarms, it cannot play a role as a 
legitimate political actor.  As UN Secretary General Annan 
said in his April 2006 report, "Armed militias outside the 
control of the government are incompatible with restoration 
of Lebanon's sovereignty, unity, and political independence." 
 
-- Hizballah relies on money laundering and other criminal 
activity as a means of raising funds.  They view criminal 
enterprises as a means of diversifying their funding sources. 
 Hizballah is involved in a wide range of criminal 
activities, ranging from trafficking in counterfeit or 
pirated goods to sophisticated money laundering, insurance 
and credit card fraud schemes. 
 
-- The Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Lebanese Hizballah 
have been linked to armor-piercing explosives that have 
resulted in the deaths of Coalition forces in Iraq. 
 
YOUNG