VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #1269/01 1570858
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 060858Z JUN 07
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5530
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 6874
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 8128

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001269 
 
SIPDIS 
 
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DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - DAVID FIRESTEIN 
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS 
 
 
Summary:  Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused news 
coverage June 6 on the year-end legislative elections and 2008 
presidential election; on a suspected arson attack that killed a 
family of four in Kaohsiung Tuesday; on the recent plunge of the 
Chinese stock market; and on other local issues.  In terms of 
editorials and commentaries, a column in the mass-circulation "Apple 
Daily" discussed a recent news story quoting an ex-chief of staff to 
former Secretary of State Colin Powell as saying that hawkish U.S. 
officials had encouraged President Chen Shui-bian's administration 
to move toward a declaration of independence.  The article called 
such an accusation "ridiculous."  An op-ed in the pro-independence 
"Liberty Times" said President Chen Shui-bian misunderstands the 
Taiwan Relations Act, as neither the U.S. State Department nor the 
Congress regard Taiwan as a country.  An op-ed by Doug Bandow, the 
Robert A. Taft Fellow at the American Conservative Defense Alliance, 
carried by the limited-circulation, pro-independence, 
English-language "Taipei Times" said "Washington, along with its 
Asian and European friends, should seek to integrate China into 
regional and global institutions, rather than work to thwart the 
PRC's rise."  A separate "Taipei Times" op-ed by J. Michael Cole, a 
writer based in Taipei, however, said "[I]f Washington means what it 
says about facilitating a peaceful resolution to the Taiwan Strait 
conflict, it had better reconsider the dangerous arms race it is on 
the verge of sparking in Northeast Asia and embark upon solid, 
relentless diplomacy that truly addresses the imbalance of power." 
End Summary. 
 
A) "Severe Infighting in Washington Spreads to Taiwan" 
 
Columnist Antonio Chiang noted in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" 
[circulation: 520,000] (6/6): 
 
"... [Colin] Powell's chief of staff accused [Donald] Rumsfeld of 
secretly supporting Taiwan independence, while latter's spokesman 
 
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responded using words such as 'ridiculous' and 'insane' to indicate 
that such an accusation was not even worth refuting.  The reason of 
dragging the thick-headed Therese Shaheen into the game was because 
her husband used to serve as the spokesman for Rumsfeld, and [the 
accusation] was meant to get revenge for his boss [i.e. Powell]. 
Most people inside the Washington circle just laughed it off. 
 
"The Pentagon is in charge of military, security and strategy, and 
it stays alert about China.  Its position differs greatly from that 
of the State Department's.  But people in the Pentagon are [also] 
quite worried about Taiwan's military buildup and disappointed with 
Taiwan stalling the arms procurements.  Given such a situation, 
Powell's chief of staff would be either very unprofessional or 
preposterous to claim that the Pentagon had often sent officials to 
Taipei to encourage A-Bian to move toward a declaration of 
independence." 
 
B) "A-Bian Misunderstands the TRA; the United States Does Not Regard 
Taiwan as a Country" 
 
Frank Chiang, president of the U.S.-based Taiwan Public Policy 
Council in the U.S. and a professor at Fordham University School of 
Law, opined in the pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 
500,000] (6/6): 
 
"News reports on May 30 quoted President Chen Shui-bian as saying 
during a video conference with the National Press Club that 'the 
Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) approved by the U.S. Congress determines 
that Taiwan is a country ... and Taiwan is therefore entitled to 
join the international organizations.'  Chen's statement likely 
intended to advocate that Taiwan's current status is [equivalent to 
that of] a country, but it would be far-fetched to cite the TRA to 
prove that Taiwan is a nation! ...  Neither the U.S. State 
Department nor the Congress regards the Republic of China or Taiwan 
as a country.  Exactly because of this, the U.S. Congress formulated 
the TRA. ... 
 
"The United States adopted the TRA in an attempt to protect the 
security of the Taiwan people and the United States' interests in 
the Western Pacific.  Had the ROC or Taiwan been a country, the U.S. 
government would have concluded a joint defense treaty with it and 
would not have had to adopt such a circuitous approach. ...  Thus 
the TRA does not regard Taiwan's current status as [that of] a 
country. ..." 
 
C) "A New Peril or Partner in the East?" 
 
Doug Bandow, the Robert A. Taft Fellow at the American Conservative 
Defense Alliance, opined in the pro-independence, English-language 
"Taipei Times" [circulation: 30,000] (6/6): 
 
"... In the longer-term, China could become a hostile peer 
competitor to the US, though cooperation would seem to be a better 
strategy than confrontation for Beijing to win international 
influence.  Moreover, while the PRC has much promise, it also faces 
 
many challenges.  The PRC could also pose a regional challenge.  But 
then China's neighbors, including Taiwan, India and Russia, would 
have an incentive to cooperate with each other.  Moreover, Japan, 
South Korea, Australia and Taiwan retain the nuclear option.  The 
mere possibility of the spread of nuclear weapons provides the PRC 
with a persuasive reason to remain a good regional citizen.  For 
China, other Asian nations and the US, accommodation makes more 
sense than confrontation where vital interests are not at stake. 
 
"While downgrading the potential for military conflict, the US 
should press China about concerns ranging from human rights to 
proliferation to Taiwan.  Overall, Washington, along with its Asian 
and European friends, should seek to integrate China into regional 
and global institutions, rather than work to thwart the PRC's rise. 
Ultimately, Washington must accept, however reluctantly, its new 
partner in Asia." 
 
D) "A Regional Arms Race Is No Answer" 
 
¶J. Michael Cole, a writer based in Taipei, opined in the 
pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" [circulation: 
30,000] (6/6): 
 
"... What Washington is accomplishing in Northeast Asia is a 
militarization of the region, an outcome it conveniently blames on 
Beijing's military build-up.  No one, however, asks whether 
Beijing's modernization of its military might not be in response to 
the sense of encirclement that the bolstered US-Japan alliance has 
engendered.  Regardless of the efficiency of the types of weapons 
Washington has been pressing on Taiwan -- raising this question 
often results in accusations of Taipei 'freeloading' on defense -- 
the pressure is on Washington, through various defense lobbies, to 
complete the transaction.  Past experience, with Saudi Arabia 
providing a lurid example, shows that billions of dollars of US 
weapons cannot guarantee the security of a state. ...  Given the 
force disparities between China and Taiwan, it is unlikely that a 
few additional air defense systems, along with some submarines, 
would represent so formidable a deterrent as to make Beijing think 
twice before launching an attack. ... 
 
"The flaw in Washington's strategy of militarizing the region, 
however, is that it is predicated on a flawed understanding of 
deterrence, with its proponents having developed the concept during 
a very different era - the Cold War. ...  If Washington means what 
it says about facilitating a peaceful resolution to the Taiwan 
Strait conflict, it had better reconsider the dangerous arms race it 
is on the verge of sparking in Northeast Asia and embark upon solid, 
relentless diplomacy that truly addresses the imbalance of power. 
Given the stakes, the world simply cannot afford to put its faith in 
militarization and deterrence.  This is just asking for 
catastrophe." 
 
YOUNG