VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #2500/01 3231031
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191031Z NOV 07
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7404
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 7443
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 8731

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 002500 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - NIDA EMMONS 
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: TAIWAN'S UN REFERENDUM, U.S.-TAIWAN 
RELATIONS 
 
¶1. Summary:  Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused news 
coverage November 17-19 on a Taiwan High Court verdict last Friday, 
which ruled in favor of DPP Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu on an appeal of 
the nullification of her election last December; on a Central 
Election Committee decision Friday to adopt "one-step voting" for 
the 2008 legislative elections; and on the 2008 presidential 
election.  In terms of editorials and commentaries, an editorial in 
the pro-independence "Liberty Times" said both the referenda pushed 
by the DPP and the KMT on Taiwan's UN membership are moves that 
affirm Taiwan as an independent sovereign state and a milestone that 
marks a step by Taiwan to move toward a normal country.  A "Liberty 
Times" op-ed discussed the annual report published by the U.S.-China 
Economic and Security Review Commission recently.  The article urged 
Washington not to forget Taiwan's strategic importance for the 
United States.  End summary. 
 
¶2. Taiwan's UN Referendum 
 
"The Objectives of Joining or Re-joining the UN Should Both Be To 
Maintain the Status of Taiwan's Independent Sovereignty" 
 
The pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 720,000] 
editorialized (11/19): 
 
"... The referenda [on Taiwan's bid] to join or re-join the UN, each 
endorsed by the Taiwan public, reveal the Taiwan people's 
determination to become a member of the international body.  The 
core of such an idea lies in the Taiwan people's assertion of the 
island's status as an independent sovereign entity.  Taiwan, being 
an independent sovereign state, is Taiwan, while China is China. 
The Taiwan people are by no means willing to become part of China, 
and the consistent spirit of the island's campaign can be seen, 
starting from its name change, through the writing of a new 
constitution, to its UN bid.  In that vein, it is certainly out of 
the question for Taiwan to conduct a unification referendum, as 
requested by China.  Should Taiwan hold such a referendum, it would 
contradict the island's status as an independent sovereign entity 
regardless of whether such a referendum were popularly approved or 
not. 
 
"Both the ruling and opposition parties could strive for their 
respective referenda to join or re-join the UN, but their objectives 
should both be to promote Taiwan becoming a normal country.  The 
referenda to join or re-join the UN are neither a dispute about 
wording nor a campaign tool for any specific political party. 
Instead, it is a move that affirms Taiwan as an independent 
sovereign state and a milestone that marks a step by Taiwan to move 
toward becoming a normal country." 
 
¶3. U.S.-Taiwan Relations 
 
"The U.S. Also Needs Taiwan" 
 
Assistant Professor Cheng Ta-cheng at the National Taiwan University 
of Science and Technology opined in the pro-independence "Liberty 
Times" [circulation: 720,000] (11/18): 
 
"The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission has recently 
released its annual report, in which it said Taiwan's national 
defense depends entirely on the United States and that without U.S. 
aid, Taiwan will not be able to defend itself against an attack by 
the People's Liberation Army.  This report has its points, but the 
United States should not forget that Taiwan is also very important 
for U.S. strategy in the Asian-Pacific region. 
 
"First, Taiwan plays an important role of a 'pressure point' in the 
'first island chain.'  If Taiwan can hold fast and resist any 
attacks, the United States can exert tremendous and continuous 
pressure on China via this 'pressure point.'  Likewise, if China 
takes over Taiwan, it can also reversely impose its military 
pressure to the east of the 'first island chain' via Taiwan.  As a 
result, for China, Taiwan is never just 'a province of the Chinese 
motherland' with which it must unify, but a strategic point it must 
break through in order to penetrate the United States's long-term 
plan to engage in a 'war of suffocation' in the 'first island 
chain.' ... 
 
"The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission suggested 
that the U.S. government continue cooperation with Taiwan to promote 
[the island's] military modernization and joint combat capabilities. 
 This is in the right direction, but in its report, the commission 
did not support [Washington's] sale of advanced weaponry, such as 
the F-16C/D fighter jets, to Taiwan.  How then is Taiwan's military 
going to modernize itself?  Secondly, in addition to upgrading 
military equipment, it also requires actual joint exercises 
experience between the two sides so as to be able to really enhance 
Taiwan's 'joint combat capabilities.'  But the United States has 
failed to put this issue into consideration.  Should any conflicts 
RELATIONS 
 
break out in the Taiwan Strait, can the U.S. military expect Taiwan 
to fight shoulder to shoulder with it?  In addition, the United 
States is clearly aware of Taiwan's military value, but it has 
failed to develop a closer relationship with Taiwan in terms of 
military bases and garrison of troops.  Probably no one has any idea 
how both sides are going to fight in coordination with each other 
during the wartime. ..." 
 
YOUNG