VZCZCXRO0793
PP RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHIN #4168/01 3550726
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 210726Z DEC 06
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3508
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 6118
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 0650
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 1606
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 5579
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 9836
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 7348

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 004168 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AIT/W, EAP/TC, INR/EAP, EAP/PD 
 
FROM AIT KAOHSIUNG BRANCH OFFICE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV TW
SUBJECT: Pro-Independence Southern Taiwan Society Joins Forces with 
the All-Island Taiwan Society 
 
REF:  TAIPEI 4038 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. 
 
1.(SBU) Summary: Last June, three leading pro-independence 
organizations -- the Northern Taiwan Society, Southern Taiwan 
Society and Eastern Taiwan Society -- joined together to establish 
the Taiwan Society.  With a mission to safeguard a "genuine 
Taiwanese regime," the Taiwan Society is a strong advocate of Taiwan 
independence and an ally of the pan-Green Camp.  However, the Taiwan 
Solidarity Union (TSU) claims the Taiwan Society has stepped over 
the line of non-partisan groups and should be required to register 
as a political party (reftel).  Following the recent mayoral 
elections in Taipei and Kaohsiung, the Taiwan Society is mobilizing 
Taiwanese groups at home and overseas to join the Society's "holy 
war" to defend the "genuine Taiwanese regime" of the DPP in the 2008 
presidential election.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Taiwan Society Secretary-General Yang Wen-chia recently 
told AIT/K that, in addition to its three major constituent 
organizations in northern, central and southern Taiwan, the Taiwan 
Society is also associated with many Taiwanese groups throughout the 
world, including the Taiwanese Sakura Society in Japan, the 
Taiwanese Maple Society in Canada, the Taiwanese Association in 
England, and three leading Taiwanese groups in North America (i.e., 
Taiwanese Professors Association of North America, Taiwanese Medical 
Doctors' Association and Taiwanese Women's Association).  The Taiwan 
Society is also closely associated with many local professional 
groups, including the Taiwan Medical Doctors' Association, the 
Taiwan Legal Society and the Taiwan Press Society as well as the 
Taiwanese Aborigines Society. 
 
¶3. (SBU) In a recent separate discussion with AIT/K, National Sun 
Yat-sen University Professor Kuo Chih-wen, a leading member of the 
Southern Taiwan Society, described the Taiwan Society as an 
integrated body of pan-Green social groups that serves as a 
discussion forum to brainstorm and reach consensus on "national" 
political issues.  The Taiwan Society hopes to cultivate a political 
environment that focuses on the "localization" of Taiwan's politics 
and "national" interest.  The Society holds meetings on a regular 
basis that are flexible enough to take up discussions of unexpected 
and important issues (e.g. relocating Taiwan's capital from Taipei 
to central or southern Taiwan proposed by the Southern Taiwan 
Society in mid October).  Most of its members are professors, 
doctors and lawyers. 
 
¶4. (U) The Taiwan Society has proven the combined effectiveness of 
the three societies by proactively countering Taiwan's pan-Blue 
forces. In response to large-scale demonstrations by the 
Anti-President Chen movement, launched on September 9 by former DPP 
Chairman Shih Ming-teh over alleged high-level corruption, the 
Taiwan Society on September 16 held a counter-rally entitled "Love, 
Hope and Glory of Taiwan" with large numbers of pan-Green supporters 
gathering at Katagelan Boulevard in Taipei to show support for 
President Chen. 
 
¶5. (U) On October 25, the Taiwan Society held a rally in Kaohsiung 
with a theme to redefine Taiwan Restoration Day and "rediscover 
Taiwan values."  (Note: Restoration Day, which the DPP government 
has dropped as a holiday, commemorates Japan's turning Taiwan over 
to the KMT nationalist government on October 25, 1945 after its 
defeat in World War II.)  According to the Taiwan Society, the 
so-called "restoration" of Taiwan was just another form of 
colonization of Taiwan, in this case by the KMT. 
 
¶6. (U) Last July, fifteen pan-Green scholars issued a joint 
statement urging President Chen Shui-bian to step down to take 
responsibility for corruption scandals involving his family members 
and top advisors.  Secretary-general Yang Wen-chia criticized the 
pan-Green scholars for failing to judge President Chen from a just 
and pragmatic standpoint.  Yang argued that an important factor 
leading to President Chen's leadership dilemma was the unfair and 
biased media reporting that favored the pan-Blue Camp while ignoring 
its corruption, vote-buying scandals, ill-gotten party assets and 
legislative inaction.  In defense of a "genuine Taiwanese political 
regime," the Taiwan Society has urged President Chen and the DPP to 
look into corruption allegations, keep a distance from financial 
groups, care for the underprivileged, adhere to political ideals of 
justice and righteousness, and respond to public expectations with 
pragmatic policies designed to restore public confidence in the DPP 
administration.  The Taiwan Society has also allied itself with 
pro-independence heavyweights in support of President Chen 
 
TAIPEI 00004168  002 OF 002 
 
 
Shui-bian. 
 
¶7. (SBU) In addition to defending President Chen, the Taiwan Society 
played an important role in the recently-concluded Kaohsiung mayoral 
election.  On November 19, the Taiwan Society issued a statement 
urging Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) mayoral candidate Lo Chih-ming 
to withdraw from the election to consolidate pan-Green votes so that 
DPP mayoral candidate Chen Chu could win the election, stressing 
that the pan-Green Camp could not afford to lose any of its 
strongholds in southern Taiwan.  In urging support for Chen Chu, the 
Society argued that the outcome of the Kaohsiung mayoral election 
would determine the future of Taiwan and the welfare of all 
Taiwanese people.  On December 3, the Taiwan Society held a 
supposedly non-partisan rally entitled "Love Kaohsiung, Cherish 
Taiwan" with 100,000 participants standing hand-in-hand along the 
Love River to rally support for DPP mayoral candidate Chen Chu.  All 
DPP political heavyweights, including President Chen Shui-bian, Vice 
President Annette Lu, Premier Su Tseng-chang, Chairman Yu Shyi-kun 
and former Kaohsiung Mayor and Premier Frank Hsieh participated in 
the rally.  There is a widespread perception in Kaohsiung that this 
rally was an important factor leading to the victory of DPP 
candidate Chen Chu.  For this action, the Taiwan Society incurred 
the wrath of the TSU, whose Vice-Chair called for the Taiwan Society 
to register as a political party (reftel). 
 
¶8. (SBU) In response to TSU anger, Yang Wen-chia said that the 
Taiwan Society is devoted to defending a "genuine Taiwanese regime" 
for the purpose of advancing freedom, democracy and human rights, 
the values upon which Taiwan is built.  Concerned that the pan-Blue 
force, which it labels "colonial rule in Taiwan" might well return 
to power in 2008, the Taiwan Society regards the 2008 presidential 
election as a "holy war" to defend Taiwan values and the Taiwanese 
regime.  Apart from politics per se, Southern Taiwan Society members 
have long told AIT/K they consider themselves engaged in "cultural 
warfare" with the press and with Education Ministry bureaucrats, 
whom they characterize as pan-Blue operatives.  Professor Kuo 
Chih-wen noted that this "cultural warfare" emphasizes the need for 
fair and objective news reporting as well as for the localization of 
Taiwan's politics and education in order to create an environment 
conducive to civil participation in a democratic society. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Long lobbying for further democraticization and 
localization of Taiwan's politics and education, the Southern Taiwan 
Society has now taken a higher profile in local politics since 
joining together with other groups in the larger Taiwan Society. 
Post will continue to monitor the pro-independence activities of the 
Southern Taiwan Society, both individually and in conjunction with 
the larger Taiwan Society. 
 
THIELE 
 
WANG