VZCZCXYZ0011
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #3938/01 3260836
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 220836Z NOV 06
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3153
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5977
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 7195

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 003938 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - DAVID FIRESTEIN 
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: CROSS-STRAIT RELATIONS, U.S.-CHINA 
RELATIONS 
 
 
¶1. Summary:  Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused their 
coverage November 22 on Taichung Mayor Jason Hu's wife, who remains 
in a critical condition following a serious car accident last 
Saturday; on Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou's alleged misuse of the 
special mayoral allowance; on the upcoming Taipei and Kaohsiung 
mayoral races; and on Morris Chang, who returned from Vietnam as 
Taiwan's representative to the 2006 APEC meeting.  All papers also 
covered on inside pages AIT Taipei Director Stephen Young's speech 
to the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei Tuesday, in which he 
mentioned the three agreements the United States hopes to sign with 
Taiwan and said the United States "encourages Taiwan to negotiate 
with China to open the Three Links -- especially direct flights -- 
as soon as possible." 
 
¶2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, an analysis in the 
pro-unification "United Daily News" discussed Young's remarks and 
said this is the first time that Washington has "encouraged" Taiwan 
to talk with China over the Three Links issue, a move indicating 
that Washington has had a fixed view about this issue which is 
essential to the interests of Washington, Beijing, and Taipei.  An 
opinion piece in the pro-status quo "China Times," on the other 
hand, discussed the battle between the United States and China over 
their future interests in East Asia.  End summary. 
 
¶3. Cross-Strait Relations 
 
"'Encouraging' [Cross-Strait] Three Links for the First Time, United 
States Pressures [Taiwan] to Foster Talks [with China]" 
 
Washington correspondent Vincent Chang noted in the pro-unification 
"United Daily News" [circulation: 400,000] (11/22): 
 
"The U.S. government used to keep a distance to the 'cross-Strait 
Three Links' issue; it even used to avoid mentioning these words and 
ask both sides [of the Taiwan Strait] to talk about the issue 
between themselves.  But Washington subsequently relented and had 
AIT Taipei Director Stephen Young talk about it in a speech to the 
American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei yesterday.  During his 
speech, which was approved by the State Department, Young has for 
the first time expressed that the United States 'encourages the 
three links across the Taiwan Strait'; a more important message was 
that [Washington] urges Taiwan to 'negotiate' with China over the 
Three Links. 
 
"This message of 'negotiation over the Three Links' is simple and 
clear, but it is completely different from the contents and level 
when compared with the United States' consistent [position] in 
calling for a dialogue between leaders of China and Taiwan.  Taiwan 
has been most concerned about Washington's pressure to 'push for' 
talks across the Taiwan Strait ever since the period when Lee 
Teng-hui held the helm.  But compared with the fact that China has 
stated repeatedly that it hopes to establish three links [with 
Taiwan], it is self-evident that the United States is targeting 
Taiwan this time as the one to foster 'talks' [with China]. ... 
 
"Even though the U.S. government has made its attitude of supporting 
the cross-Strait Three Links increasingly clear ever since early 
this year, relevant [U.S.] officials continued to avoid using these 
words.  Thus, Young's request yesterday that both sides negotiate 
over the Three Links showed that [Washington] evidently has had a 
fixed view about the issue; that it is essential to the interests of 
the United States, China, and Taiwan.  [Young's remarks], as a 
result, were significant in the way that it indicated the change of 
attitude on the part of the U.S. government with regard to 
cross-Strait interaction. ..." 
 
¶4. U.S.-China Relations 
 
"Battle between the United States and China over East Asia" 
 
Lin Jo-yun, associate professor at Tamkang University's Institute of 
Southeast Asian Studies, opined in the pro-status quo "China Times" 
[circulation: 400,000] (11/22): 
 
"... There is little with which Taiwan can exert its power with 
regard to the issues mentioned in the 'Hanoi Declaration,' which was 
co-signed among the leaders of the 21 APEC economies this year, such 
as the resumption of the WTO Doha Round talks, implementation of the 
'Hanoi Action Plan,' and sanctions against North Korea.  But it is 
the United States and China, [namely] their competition in the East 
Asia region, and its connection to the East Asia Summit that deserve 
our attention.  First, the Republican Party headed by U.S. President 
George W. Bush has suffered a defeat in the mid-term elections. 
This outcome indicated that the American people are displeased with 
the war in Iraq, and as a result, Bush has to shift the focus of the 
American people to Asia.  Second, China's swelling influence in Asia 
has put the United States under pressure, and Washington is 
concerned that U.S. interests will lose ground in Asia. ... 
 
 
RELATIONS 
 
 
"Judged from the United States' perspective, while being worried 
about China's rise in Asia, it may also gradually lose its influence 
among the ASEAN nations.  The United States has indeed learned a 
lesson from the financial crisis that hit Asia from 1997-1998.  The 
excessively tough and severe approach adopted by Washington and the 
International Monetary Fund in handling the crisis aroused strong 
complaints from the ASEAN nations, which then began to turn to 
China, who at the time was committed to the policy of 'befriending 
your neighbors.' The United States must watch out more carefully 
this time in strengthening its relationships with the Southeastern 
Asian countries. 
 
"The United States has had its global strategic concerns in the wake 
of the September 11 tragedy.  To put it simply, on the level of 
global strategy, Washington puts Muslim countries in the Middle 
East, such as Iran, as its top priority.  As to the regional level, 
the United States is considering signing a friendly cooperation 
agreement with the ASEAN nations on the one hand to test the 
possibility of joining the East Asia Summit, while on the other 
hand, it is considering showing more support to the ASEAN Regional 
Forum (ARF) and APEC.  After all, the ARF has become the only 
multilateral security mechanism in East Asia, and strengthening the 
future development of APEC and the ARF can form a more powerful 
bilateral connection between the United States and the ASEAN 
nations. ..." 
 
YOUNG