VZCZCXYZ0014
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #0401 0470405
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 160405Z FEB 07
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4174
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 6386
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 7621

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000401 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - LLOYD NEIGHBORS 
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: SIX-PARTY TALKS 
 
 
¶1. Summary:  Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused 
coverage February 16 on the ruling by the Taipei District Court in 
former PFP Chairman James Soong's slander suit against President 
Chen Shui-bian, who had claimed that Soong met with China's Taiwan 
Affairs Office Director Chen Yunlin in the United States in 2005. 
The court found that President Chen's remarks were based on 
unverified information, and ordered him to pay Soong NT$3 million 
[US$92.3 thousand approx.] in compensation and to post an apology on 
the front pages of three major newspapers:  the Liberty Times, the 
China Times, and the United Daily News. 
 
¶2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, a column in the 
centrist, pro-status quo "China Times" focused on the establishment 
of the Northeast Asia Peace and Security Mechanism outlined February 
13 in the Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks. The analysis 
founded that the establishment of the mechanism is in the interest 
of every party to the Talks.  End summary. 
 
¶3. "Will there be a Peace and Security Mechanism in Northeast 
Asia?" 
 
A column in the centrist, pro-status quo "China Times" [circulation: 
400,000] said (02/16): 
 
"In the 'February 13 Joint Statement' of the 'Six-Party Talks,' all 
the parties agreed to establish five working groups -- 
Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Normalization of DPRK-US 
Relations, Normalization of DPRK-Japan Relations, Economy and Energy 
Cooperation, and a Northeast Asia Peace and Security Mechanism -- to 
carry out the initial actions and to fully implement the Joint 
Statement. 
 
"The Northeast Asia Peace and Security Mechanism is listed as the 
last working group, but this is a very important foreshadowing. 
This is because when the four other tasks are completed, or near 
their completion, a mechanism is needed to secure these 
accomplishments and to incorporate politics, economics, diplomacy, 
and military security for long-term purposes.  Isn't it another 
version of the 'Organization for Security and Cooperation in 
Europe'? 
 
"China is surely the country that proposed the motion, and the 
motion must be in the interests of China.  But what are China's 
interests?  China's interests are to develop its economy and 
strengthen its national power when the peripheral environment is 
stable, and peace and stability in Northeast Korea can safeguard 
this advantageous environment. 
 
"After several rounds of the Six-Party Talks, one successful joint 
announcement and one joint statement have given China a major role 
in using its good offices for peace and stability in the Korean 
Peninsula.  These achievements also prove that China has the 
capability of doing so.  If China further carries out tasks 
involving peace and security in Northeast Asia, no country would 
oppose it.  China will not play a major role, but it has the most 
powerful influence, just like its role in the Shanghai Cooperation 
Organization. 
 
"What are the reactions from other countries on this matter?  With 
regard to the United States, the future of the Korean Peninsula is 
unpredictable.  Since North Korea possesses nuclear weapons, it is 
impossible for it to abandon them.  The future development between 
South Korea and North Korea is also subtle.  Any confrontation 
between China and Japan is not in the interests of the United 
States.  A peace and security mechanism in Northeast Asia would 
allow the United States to avoid several risks, and let the U.S. 
deal with matters in other regions. 
 
"If North Korea is allowed to keep its nuclear weapons, this 
mechanism would be very advantageous to the country, since the 
mechanism can end North Korea's isolation.  South Korea could also 
carry out South-North reconciliation under this framework, and march 
towards unification of the Korean Peninsula. 
 
"Russia does not have a position on getting involved in matters in 
Northeast Asia.  It is everything Russia hopes for if the country 
can get involved through the mechanism.  With regard to Japan, its 
major strategy is to keep its close alliance with the United States. 
 On the basis of this mechanism, there are more advantages than 
disadvantages to Japan in participation in a peripheral peace 
mechanism." 
 
YOUNG