VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #0018/01 0060927
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 060927Z JAN 10
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3065
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 9607
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0991

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000018 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/P, EAP/PD - THOMAS HAMM 
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS 
 
¶1. Summary:  Taiwan's major Chinese-language and English-language 
dailies gave extensive straightforward news reporting and editorial 
coverage January 6 to the controversy concerning the import of U.S. 
beef.  Taiwan's Legislative Yuan on January 5 amended the Act 
Governing Food Sanitation which bans the import of six types of 
"risky" U.S. beef products.  The pro-independence "Liberty Times" 
ran a front-page banner headline reading "Amendments to Law 
Concerning U.S. Beef Passes the Third Reading, Consumers' Foundation 
Strongly Calls for Renegotiation [of the U.S. Beef Deal]."  The 
KMT-leaning "China Times" also ran a front-page banner headline 
reading "Using the Act Governing Food Sanitation to Block U.S. Beef 
[Imports]; United States: Difficult to Expand Trade and Economic 
[Relations] with Taiwan." 
 
¶2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, a "Liberty Times" 
editorial lambasted President Ma Ying-jeou for his arbitrary action, 
saying that Ma's mishandling of the U.S. beef issue has had an 
impact on Taiwan-U.S. relations.  Editorials in the mass-circulation 
"Apple Daily" and the pro-unification "United Daily News" discussed 
the U.S. beef issue and the recent remarks by the American Chamber 
of Commerce in Taiwan on U.S.-Taiwan relations.  Both articles urged 
Taiwan to strengthen its relations with the United States. 
Editorials in the conservative, pro-unification, English-language 
"China Post" also chimed in by saying Ma should mend fences with 
Uncle Sam.  An editorial in the pro-independence, English-language 
"Taiwan News" also criticized Ma and said it is Ma, not the Taiwan 
people, who should bear the blame for the U.S. beef flap.  End 
summary. 
 
A)  "Ma Ying-jeou's Acting Arbitrarily Has an Impact on Taiwan-U.S. 
Relations" 
 
The pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 680,000] 
editorialized (1/6): 
 
"The Legislative Yuan passed the third reading of the amendments to 
the Act Governing Food Sanitation Tuesday, which bans the import of 
six types of "risky" U.S. beef products -- skull, brain, eyes, 
spinal cord, ground beef and beef offal.  The move was akin to 
rejecting the Taiwan-U.S. beef protocol and has immediately aroused 
displeasure from the United States.  AIT issued a statement Tuesday, 
not only criticizing Taiwan for unilaterally abrogating the protocol 
but also pointing out bluntly that such an action has undermined 
Taiwan's credibility as a responsible trading partner, making it 
more difficult for Washington to conclude future agreements to 
expand and strengthen bilateral trade and economic ties going 
forward.  The U.S. reaction indicated that the U.S. beef issue has 
caused Taiwan-U.S. relations to regress seriously.  Ma Ying-jeou's 
recent bragging that Taiwan-U.S. relations are in their best state 
for the past six decades has become very ironic. ...  The U.S. beef 
talks is a major diplomatic setback for the Ma administration, 
showing that Ma's campaign slogan 'We are ready' was nothing but a 
lack of governance ability and grand planning. ... 
 
"Frankly speaking, what interests did Taiwan really get from the 
[U.S. beef] talks?  Was it progress in the Taiwan-U.S. 'Trade and 
Investment Framework' (TIFA) talks,  Washington being willing to 
sign a Free Trade Agreement with Taiwan, or just Taiwan being 
included in the U.S. visa-waiver program?  In other words, since 
there are risks involved in importing U.S. beef, Taiwan must 
naturally get [some] substantial national interests in return if it 
agrees to sign the protocol -- only that will make [our] concessions 
meaningful.  But when [we] look back, it seems that the Ma 
administration evidently failed to use that as a bargaining chip to 
pursue the greater interests for its people.  It gained nothing 
[from the protocol], but was quite pleased with itself and asked its 
people to accept [the final result]. ...  To get to the bottom of 
it, the Taiwan people are clearly aware of the importance of 
Taiwan-U.S. relations, but they also know that it is all because of 
the Ma administration's acting arbitrarily and mishandling that has 
led to the consequence today. ..." 
 
B) "Strengthening Relations with the United States Is the Only 
Workable Method" 
 
The mass-circulation "Apple Daily" [circulation: 530,000] 
editorialized (1/6): 
 
"... Taiwan-U.S. relations are the cornerstone of Taiwan's foreign 
relations and the protector of the Taiwan-centric awareness and the 
island's democratic lifestyle.  It is correct when Ma's team 
proposed the grand strategy of 'harmonizing with China, befriending 
Japan and maintaining a close relationship with the United States.' 
But when it comes to execution [of the strategy], one discovered 
that the [Ma] administration only focuses on harmonizing with China, 
and hardly any work has been done in building a close relationship 
with the United States. ... 
 
"... Taiwan's relations with the United States, Japan and China must 
 
be maintained at least as an equilateral triangle, or it must be a 
triangle, of which its relations with China and the United States 
are equilateral. ... This is common sense in international 
relations, something that President Ma and [National Security 
Council Secretary-General] Su Chi, who had all studied in the United 
States, must be aware of.  But it appears that Ma's team has 
abandoned its efforts to lobby the United States and Japan.  In this 
vein, not only fewer and fewer elites in the United States will care 
about Taiwan, but it has created more opportunities for China to 
lobby American elites to call for the abolishment of the 'Taiwan 
Relations Act' -- a development quite upsetting to the elites who 
have spoken in favor of Taiwan.  Taiwan must strengthen its 
relations with the United States so as to balance the dangerous 
situation that it is tilting overly to China.  In that way, the 
Taiwan people will be able to eliminate their doubts about Ma's 
tilting toward China and pushing for unification. ..." 
 
C) "Breaking away from Taiwan and Leaning toward China -- the United 
States' Cross-Strait Policy Direction" 
 
The pro-unification "United Daily News" [circulation: 400,000] 
editorialized (1/6): 
 
"The American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan advocated that the 
United States should sell weapons to Taiwan, including 60 F-16 C/D 
fighter jets.  The American Chamber of Commerce said the White 
House's hesitation toward arms sales to Taiwan stems from its 
'perception that Taiwan is a hurdle to the United States' interests 
in Asia.'  One must not take this comment as a kind of lobbying 
rhetoric by the arms dealers alone. ...  Perhaps this does not just 
indicate that the sale of the fighter jets will be shelved again; 
instead, it showed that the United States' cross-Strait policy has 
entered a framework of 'breaking away from Taiwan and leaning toward 
China.' ..." 
 
D) "The Beef War Being Fought on the Third Front" 
 
The conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post" 
[circulation: 30,000] editorialized (1/6): 
 
"The beef war triggered by the signing of a protocol on Oct. 22 last 
year is being fought on the third front now. ...  Lawmakers passed 
the amendment yesterday, opening the third front for the war that 
had been fought on the home front between the Kuomintang (KMT) 
administration and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).  The war 
in the second stage was won by the opposition party, which succeeded 
in getting the amendment passed with the defection of most of the 
legislators of the ruling KMT.  It was serious loss attributed to 
President Ma Ying-jeou, who doubles as chairman of the KMT.  The 
loss was made bitter when President Ma received a warning from a 
powerful U.S. senator, who is a friend of Taiwan. ...  Well, Senator 
Baucus' hope was dashed.  President Ma cannot reverse the decision 
Taiwan's legislature has taken.  The only thing he can do now is to 
do his very best to 'communicate' with, and 'explain' to, the U.S. 
Meanwhile, his government is bracing for U.S. retaliation. ... 
 
"There is little doubt that the Ma government is having a very hard 
time continuing the war on the third front. ...  As a matter of 
fact, Washington had suggested that the protocol be signed after the 
Dec. 5 elections.  President Ma, convinced that the U.S. beef import 
issue was no issue at all, had the protocol signed.  It's a 
non-issue, of course.  But the timing was disastrous.  The 
opposition party needed an issue and jumped at the god-send 
opportunity, stirring up the hidden anti-Ma and anti-U.S. feelings 
of the people to win the mayoralty and magistracy elections.  It did 
to Ma's dismay.  And he is facing another probable loss in the three 
legislative by elections by Feb. 9 [sic]. ...  All this means Ma has 
to mend fences with Uncle Sam as soon as possible.  Whether Taipei 
can win an American understanding to get TIFA negotiations under way 
at the earliest possible date depends on how persuasive Ma can be to 
absolve himself of 'mea culpa,' albeit he may put all the blame on 
the stupidly obstructionist lawmakers of his own party and the 
opposition." 
 
E) "Ma, Not the People, Bears Blame for U.S. Beef Flap" 
 
The pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" [circulation: 
20,000] editorialized (1/6): 
 
"President Ma Ying-jeou displayed to a national television audience 
yesterday his inability to grasp the fundamentals of democratic 
politics when he blamed Taiwan's 23 million people for the flap on 
the question of liberalization of risky beef products from the 
United States. ...  After all, the reason behind the series of 
policy disputes from U.S. beef to swine influenza vaccinations and 
the controversial cross-strait economic cooperation framework 
agreement (ECFA) and Ma's plunging approval and public confidence 
ratings below 30 percent lies less in the lack of effectiveness of 
government propaganda but deepening mistrust and intensifying 
 
anxiety over the Ma government's habitual 'black box' method of 
decision-making and operation. ... 
 
"In light of Ma's evident belief that the Taiwan people bear 
responsibility, we urge Taiwan voters to take corrective action in 
early 2012 to reverse the mistake they made in early 2008 in 
electing him and giving the KMT a three-fourths majority in the 
Legislative Yuan.  Voters in Taichung, Taitung and Taoyuan Counties 
have an opportunity to begin this corrective action in legislative 
by-elections Saturday.  Finally, we urge Taiwan citizens to protest 
the Ma administration's arrogant decision to 'blame the people' and 
protect their own health by declining to purchase U.S. 'beef in 
bone.'" 
 
STANTON