VZCZCXYZ0002
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #0823/01 1020916
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 120916Z APR 07
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4866
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 6631
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 7875

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000823 
 
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: CHINA-JAPAN RELATIONS, U.S. FOREIGN POLICY 
 
 
¶1. Summary:  While Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies gave 
front-page coverage to an accident that happened at the Kaohsiung 
Zoo Wednesday evening, news coverage on April 12 also focused on the 
battle over the ownership of the Taiwan Television Enterprise, one 
of the island's four terrestrial TV networks, and on the 2008 
presidential elections.  The pro-status quo "China Times" devoted 
more than half of its second page to an exclusive interview with 
Vice President Annette Lu, in which a news story carried the 
following headline: "Regarding the Four Nos, Lu Asks the United 
States Not to Press [It] Any More."  The sub-headline added 
"[Taiwan] has Long since had Independent Sovereignty; the Republic 
of China is Taiwan." 
 
¶2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, a "China Times" op-ed 
piece commented on Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Japan.  The 
article said "a profound 'tectonic movement' has occurred under the 
tense surface of China-Japan relations."  A separate "China Times" 
analysis said the fact that the Taiwan issue was not put into words 
or included in the China-Japan communique indicated that the 
distrust between the two countries has yet to subside.  An op-ed 
piece in the limited-circulation, pro-independence, English-language 
"Taipei Times," on the other hand, discussed the U.S. foreign policy 
and said "a full appreciation of the strengths and particularly the 
weakness of the US position in the international community provides 
an indispensable context for how the US will subsequently act when 
confronting new challenges."  End summary. 
 
¶3. China-Japan Relations 
 
A) "Unexpected Improvement in China-Japan Relations" 
 
Professor Lin Chong-pin of Tamkang University's Graduate Institute 
of International Affairs & Strategic Studies opined in the 
pro-status quo "China Times" [circulation: 400,000] (4/12): 
 
"Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Japan yesterday for a visit, 
and it is expected [his trip] will help expand bilateral economic 
cooperation.  It has been six-and-a-half years since a Chinese 
premier visited Japan the last time, and China-Japan ties, which 
have been ice-covered for several years, will begin to thaw.  The 
fact that new Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had visited Beijing 
October 8, 2006 before he visited the United States marked the 
initial breakthrough of the bilateral ties between Japan and China. 
...  As a matter of fact, a profound 'tectonic movement' has 
occurred on the tense surface of China-Japan relations, and one will 
easily misjudge the situation if he seeks to predict the future 
based on facts in the past. ... 
 
"Japan has been lingering at the crossroads for a long time.  On the 
military aspect, it went eastbound and secured an alliance with the 
United States, and just recently it has established a security 
cooperation relationship with Australia.  On the economic aspect, 
Tokyo went westbound and started cooperation with China.  If the 
United States loses its predominant strength when being caught in 
the quagmire of Iraq, while China continues its economic expansion, 
Japan will face a significant challenge. ..." 
 
B) "'Taiwan' Issue' Is Not Included in the Communique, Distrust 
between China and Japan Fails to Subside" 
 
Journalist Lin Ke-lun wrote in an analysis in the pro-status quo 
"China Times" [circulation: 400,000] (4/12): 
 
"The strategic significance of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to 
Japan this time lies in the hope to establish a strategically 
reciprocal relationship between China and Japan, and to outline the 
rules of game for the two countries' future 'strategic' engagement 
by signing an official communique.  But the fact that the Taiwan 
issue was not put into words and included in the communique as 
Beijing desired indicates that the distrust between China and Japan 
still remains. ..." 
 
¶4. U.S. Foreign Policy 
 
"What Faces the Next US President?" 
 
Kurt Campbell, CEO and co-founder of the Center for a New American 
Security, opined in the pro-independence, English-language "Taipei 
Times" [circulation: 30,000] (4/12): 
 
"With the US presidential contest in full swing, it is prudent to 
reflect on what the 44th US president will inherit in terms of 
foreign policy.  This context will have a significant bearing on how 
the US chooses to deal with potential challenges, conceivably even 
tensions across the Taiwan Strait. ...  So a full appreciation of 
the strengths and particularly the weakness of the US position in 
the international community provides an indispensable context for 
how the US will subsequently act when confronting new challenges -- 
particularly the drama that is playing out in Asia with a rising 
 
China, a more assertive Japan, a nuclear North Korea, and a more 
militarized Taiwan Strait. ... 
 
"To Asian friends, this contemporary foreign policy legacy and 
inheritance may seem somewhat peripheral, but nothing could be 
further from the truth.  Asia is entering an extraordinarily dynamic 
period and will confront many of its challenges with a US arguably 
distracted and not at full capacity -- not a welcome reality for 
those committed to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region." 
 
 
YOUNG