VZCZCXYZ0004
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #2401/01 1950833
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 140833Z JUL 06
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1117
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5415
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 6621

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 002401 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - ERIC BARBORIAK 
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
 
 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION:  AFTERMATH OF THE PRESIDENTIAL RECALL 
ATTEMPT, U.S.-TAIWAN RELATIONS 
 
 
¶1. Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused their 
coverage June 14 on the confiscation of a record number of 
state-of-the-art illegal weapons in Pingtung Thursday morning; a 
planned declaration by pro-Green scholars calling for President Chen 
Shui-bian's resignation; Tropical Storm Bilis, which swept over the 
island Thursday night; the continuing investigation into First Lady 
Wu Shu-chen's alleged role in the ownership fight for the Sogo 
Department Store; and the release on bail of President Chen 
Shui-bian's son-in-law.  The pro-unification "United Daily News" 
front-paged "[Former DPP Chairman] Lin Yi-hsiung Supports Pro-Green 
Scholars' Planned Declaration to Oust Bian."  The newspaper also ran 
a banner headline on page three that said "Move to Collect 
Signatures to Oust Bian Will Be Open to All Taiwan People." 
 
¶2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, an editorial in the 
pro-status quo "China Times" criticized President Chen, saying "a 
political figure who has no credibility does not deserve to be 
called a nativist."  The "Black and White" column in the "United 
Daily News" said unyielding nativist stalwarts have been shaken to 
the roots by the corruption and incompetence of the Chen 
administration.  An editorial in the limited-circulation, 
conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post" said 
the scholars' action reflects a growing public realization that any 
president who fails to fight corruption and exercise clean politics 
must be held responsible for such failures.  An editorial in the 
limited-circulation, pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan 
News," on the other hand, discussed U.S.-Taiwan relations.  The 
editorial urged the DPP government to engage in a clear dialogue 
with Washington over Taiwan's priorities, especially with regard to 
the island's national security, deepening democracy deepening, 
constitutional re-engineering, and ensuring its right of democratic 
self-determination.  End summary. 
 
¶3. Aftermath of the Presidential Recall Attempt 
 
A) "Taiwan Has No Democracy If Its President Has No Credibility" 
 
The pro-status quo "China Times" [circulation: 400,000] 
editorialized (7/14): 
 
"During the political upheavals triggered by the First Family over 
the past few weeks, A-bian and the DPP tried to polarize or draw a 
line between nativism and non-nativism in order to save Chen from 
the crisis.  This is the point criticized by the afore-mentioned 
scholars in their statement.  For some DPP supporters, it seems that 
identification with nativism can override political credibility. 
Some self-proclaimed passionate 'nativists' even used sophistical 
remarks like 'there is `a moral standard higher than honesty' to 
defend against the Taiwan people's doubts about the First Family's 
incorruptibility and credibility, and to rationalize their playing 
on ethnic feelings.  ... 
 
"The Taiwan people have the right to look forward to a nativist 
regime.  But nativism is by no means a substitute for any particular 
ethnic group or political party.  A genuine nativist regime must 
stand close to its people and provide its people with a sound 
self-reflective environment so that their democratic awareness can 
be enhanced and enriched.  For a dishonest politician, his sole 
purpose is to twist the information offered to the people, 
manipulate results, and control power.  In the meantime, his 
behavior has naturally damaged the originally sound nativist, 
self-reflective democracy.  A political figure who has no 
credibility does not deserve to be called a 'nativist,' and this is 
this paper's only comment on the First Family." 
 
B) "The Calls of Pro-Green Scholars" 
 
The "Black and White" column in the pro-unification "United Daily 
News" [circulation; 400,000] noted (7/14) 
 
"For the DPP, a group of pro-Green scholars calling for President 
Chen's resignation is in reality thornier to deal with than a recall 
motion proposed by the opposition parties.  This is because the DPP 
members know very clearly in their hearts that the unyielding 
nativist stalwarts have been shaken to the roots by the corruption 
and incompetence of the Bian administration. ... 
 
"On the surface, the statement is aimed at urging Chen to resign; on 
a deeper level, it is designed to call on the DPP to grasp the 
democratic values of a nativist regime again.  To put it simply, 
President Chen has dragged the nativists into the quagmire of 
corruption, but the DPP must draw a line between itself and Chen so 
as to sustain its faith in democracy.  But the question is:  Does 
the DPP, which is deeply entangled in the net of power, have the 
strength to rise again? ..." 
 
C) "Chen's Traditional Supporters Join Calls for Him to Resign" 
 
 
The conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post" 
[circulation: 30,000] editorialized (7/14): 
 
"President Chen Shui-bian got a new blow to his authority on 
Wednesday as a group of leading intellectuals - people who have long 
been his and his party's loyal supporters - issued an unlikely 
statement urging him to resign on the grounds that he is morally 
weakened and has lost the trust of the people, the crucial qualities 
required of a national leader. ...  The demand by the intellectuals 
for Chen to resign is significant in two important ways.  First, 
their action reflected a growing public realization that any 
president failing to fight corruption and exercise clean politics 
must be held responsible for such failures.  ...  Another point of 
significance in the intellectuals' appeal for Chen to step down is 
that their move suggests a shift in the public mood toward Chen. 
That is, people holding feelings of dissatisfaction with him are no 
longer limited to the two major opposition parties - the KMT and the 
PFP - and their supporters." 
 
¶4. U.S.-Taiwan Relations 
 
"Democratic Friends Need Clear Dialogue" 
 
The pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" [circulation: 
20,000] editorialized (7/14): 
 
"One of the charges leveled against President Chen Shui-bian in the 
unsuccessful recall motion filed last month by the 'pan-blue' 
alliance of the Kuomintang and People First Party claimed that Chen 
had wrecked Taiwan's critical relationship with the United States. 
...  The reality is quite different as relations between Taipei and 
Washington remain on an even keel, despite occasional differences. 
...  There have undoubtedly been flaps and tensions between Chen's 
DPP administration and the Republican Party administration of 
President George W. Bush in Washington, but differences do not 
necessarily indicate fundamental discord.  After all, China's rise 
can hardly be translated into an alliance of common values with the 
U.S., while Taiwan has had wide common interests with the U.S.  ... 
 
 
"Since prospects for a democratic transition in the PRC under State 
Chairman Hu Jintao are virtually nil, the primary challenge faced 
commonly by Washington, Tokyo and Taipei is how to cope with China's 
determined build-up of its military clout and its aggressive 
deployment of missiles and offensive forces opposite Taiwan.  The 
strategic line that divides the U.S., Japan and Taiwan into a 
different camp from the PRC and North Korea will not vanish in the 
near term and the fundamental commonality of interests shared by 
Washington, Tokyo and Taipei will remain firm, even if the various 
leaders or administrations in these capitals have differences on how 
to cope with China's military threat. ... 
 
"Strategically speaking, Taiwan has to avoid presenting its allies 
with unnecessary 'surprises,' especially during election periods, 
but also must be frank about explaining to policy-makers in 
Washington, Tokyo and other capitals what our priorities are, 
especially in fields such as national security, democratic 
deepening, constitutional re-engineering and ensuring our right of 
democratic self-determination. ...  We should not compromise our 
resolution to deepen protection for human rights in order to 
'cooperate' with the Bush administration's 'war on terror,' nor 
discount our resolution to realize the values of the world effort to 
curb greenhouse gas emissions as reflected in the Kyoto Protocol 
simply because Bush and his advisers do not believe in the existence 
of the global warming crisis nor abandon our commitment for peace in 
the face of Washington's theory of 'preemptive war,' a theory that 
Beijing would be only too pleased to accept." 
 
YOUNG