This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 004965 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - ERIC 
BARBORIAK 
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S. ARMS PROCUREMENTS 
 
Summary: Major Chinese-language Taiwan dailies continued to 
focus their coverage December 23 on the second meeting 
between KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou and PFP Chairman James 
Soong Thursday following the December 3 island-wide 
elections and the controversial U.S. arms procurements bill. 
The pro-independence "Liberty Times," Taiwan's biggest 
daily, carried the results of a National Defense Ministry's 
latest poll survey on its page three that said: "70 Percent 
[of the People Polled] Said They Support the [U.S.] Arms 
Procurement Bill's Delivery to the Legislative Yuan's 
Procedure Committee for Review."  The centrist "China Times" 
reported on its page three that "The United States 
Guarantees That It Will Sell Eight Submarines to Taiwan; 
Public Bidding [for the Submarines] Can Go Ahead First."  In 
terms of editorials, an editorial in the pro-unification 
"United Daily News" said Washington's recent suggestion to 
President Chen Shui-bian that Taiwan increase its annual 
defense budget to 3% of its GDP showed that the U.S. 
government knows better how to "manage" Taiwan and that 
Chen's accepting of Washington's proposal is a double injury 
to Taiwan's national dignity and Chen's personality.  End 
summary. 
 
"Chen Shui-bian and [U.S.] Arms Procurements: Double Injury 
to [Taiwan's] National Dignity and [Chen's] Personality" 
 
The pro-unification "United Daily News" [circulation: 
400,000] commented in an editorial (12/23): 
 
"By comparison, it seems the U.S. government knows better 
how to `manage' Taiwan than Chen Shui-bian.  All the more, 
Washington indeed went beyond its authorities and replaced 
Chen's position in `managing' Taiwan.  A precedent of this 
situation was seen in the past when [Chen] sought to 
initiate a referendum on Taiwan's writing a new constitution 
, and now the [U.S.] arms deal [with Taiwan] is another 
example. 
 
"The [U.S.] arms deal [with Taiwan] has made a major turn 
[recently].  The United States suggested that Taiwan change 
its way of listing all the funding earmarked for [U.S.] arms 
procurements as a special budget into adding it to the 
government's regular defense budget and increase Taiwan's 
annual defense budget to 3% of its GDP.  Washington made 
such proposals because it has already had a clear view that: 
first, the opposition camp's move to oppose the U.S. arms 
procurement bill and the debate on Taiwan's national defense 
that such a move triggered has, to a certain extent, won 
public support.  The longer the arms procurement bill is 
procrastinated, the more alienated Taiwan's society will 
feel about the bill.  Second, given the fact of Taiwan's 
quickly deteriorating financial status, it will be more 
difficult to remove the opposition legislators' obstruction 
to the bill if the government still insists on listing the 
arms procurement funding as a special budget.  Third, the 
United States has seen particularly clearly that Chen Shui- 
bian has lost his power and prestige now, so it started to 
adopt a resolution that tilts toward the pan-Blue camp's 
position. 
 
"The question is: even the U.S. government has seen 
everything crystal clear and worked out a possible 
resolution [to the stalled arms procurement bill], how come 
that Chen got stuck in the deadlock of the bill and has been 
at his wit's end about what to do for the past two years? 
In the end, it turned out that Chen still had to swallow the 
antidote prescribed by the United States [to resolve the 
problem].  Such a situation is akin to a double injury to 
both Taiwan's national dignity and Chen's personality 
especially when he is the president of the Republic of 
China! . 
 
"The U.S. proposal to change the funding for the [U.S.] arms 
procurements from a special budget to regular defense budget 
seems relatively feasible, at least on the technical and 
financial levels, even though it fails to provide a genuine 
answer to Taiwan's debate over its national defense. .  The 
United States said Taiwan must demonstrate its capability 
and determination to defend itself via arms procurements. 
But everybody knows that no one can show his capability and 
determination to defend himself simply via arms 
procurements.  For Taiwan at this moment, the psychological 
consensus of `whom and what are we fighting for' is nearly 
at the brink of decomposition. ...  What meaning would 
everything have for Taiwan, let alone the arms procurements, 
if the island fails resolve the problem of `for whom and 
what are we fighting for' and the economic and political 
conflicts inherent in our cross-Strait policy?  That is the 
core concept of the `anti-arms procurements' movement. ." 
 
PAAL