VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #2574/01 3402233
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 062233Z DEC 07
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7525
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 7496
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 8780

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 002574 
 
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: U.S.-CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS 
 
¶1. Summary:  Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused news 
coverage December 6 on the clashes at the Taiwan Democracy Memorial 
Hall (formerly known as the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall) Wednesday 
over whether the inscription, which contains characters associated 
with Chiang Kai-shek, should be removed from the plaque on the 
entrance gate.  The centrist, KMT-leaning "China Times," however, 
ran an exclusive news story on page six with the headline "U.S. 
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State is to Hold a Press Conference 
for Taiwan [Media] Thursday Evening." 
 
¶2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, an editorial in the 
pro-independence "Liberty Times" commented on AIT Taipei Director 
Stephen Young's speech delivered at a seminar hosted by the 
Foundation on International and Cross-Strait Studies Monday.  The 
article said the United States should not simply demand that Taiwan 
engage in a dialogue with China that is equivalent to surrender.  An 
op-ed in the pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times," 
written by Michael Cole, a writer based in Taipei, discussed China's 
recent refusal of a port call in Hong Kong by USS Kitty Hawk.  The 
article said Beijing's decision to snub the United States was "a 
calculated effort taken by an increasingly confident China to divide 
and conquer."  End summary. 
 
A) "The United States Should Not Unilaterally Demand That Taiwan 
Accept a Dialogue [with China] That is Equivalent to Surrender" 
 
The pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 720,000] 
editorialized (12/6): 
 
"... Ever since President Chen started to promote the UN referendum, 
several times the U.S. government has arranged to have its officials 
deliver remarks expressing their disagreement with such a 
referendum.  Thus, [AIT Director] Stephen Young's [recent] speech 
regarding [Washington's] opposition to Taiwan's holding of a 'UN 
referendum' and its hope that the new Taiwan president will resume 
dialogue with Beijing seemed not an unusual address; instead, it 
represented the U.S. government's recent position.  President Chen 
Shui-bian's response, on the other hand, was not meant to give tit 
for tat but simply to state the fact and Taiwan's mainstream public 
view, in an attempt to make the U.S. government understand that the 
latter's position toward the UN referendum is a bias.  He also 
intended to remind [Washington] that its expectations for China were 
a delusion.  The peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait should 
naturally be built on interactions between Taiwan and China on an 
equal footing.  But the U.S. government seems to be tilting toward 
China because of its opposition to Taiwan's UN referendum. 
Washington's original intent was perhaps to stabilize and put order 
to the Taiwan Strait.  But instead, what it did may send a wrong 
hint to China, which, as a result, might take risks in desperation 
and might cause a tragedy of cross-Strait conflicts.  Surely we 
believe that the U.S. government will not be happy to see such a 
consequence. ... 
 
"In other words, for the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to engage in 
a dialogue, it does not matter who is elected president of Taiwan; 
what really matters is whether the new president will accept the 
one-China principle and acknowledge that Taiwan is part of the 
People's Republic of China.  For any Taiwan political figure who 
accepts such a condition, it will be akin to handing out a letter of 
surrender to China.  Any candidate who is bold enough to make such a 
proposal during his campaigns surely will be rejected with scorn by 
the voters, and the chances will be slim for him to be elected. 
Even if he does not show his true face until after being elected, he 
will be recalled by the public if he accepts the one China principle 
and sells out Taiwan.  In this vein, it will be Young's wishful 
thinking if he expects that the two presidential candidates in the 
Blue and Green camps, respectively, will resume dialogue with China. 
 What the United States should strive for is to urge China to give 
up its one-China principle, which Beijing sees as the premise for 
both sides to resume talks, and to engage in negotiations with 
Taiwan unconditionally, so that both sides can get along with each 
other peacefully. 
 
"Given that China refused to allow the USS Kitty Hawk and other 
naval vessels to dock in Hong Kong, so that the military officers 
and soldiers serving on the vessels could spend the Thanksgiving 
holiday with their families, the United States should be able to 
feel deeply that even though China's national power is growing, it 
remains yet to be a civilized country.  Its barbarian and violent 
behavior and ideology are the potential threats to the stability and 
order in the international community.  Therefore, the United States 
must not unilaterally demand that Taiwan accept a dialogue [with 
China] in the style of surrender.  Only when both sides across the 
Strait show respect to each other and stand on an equal footing can 
a dialogue become meaningful and bring true peace for the 
Asia-Pacific region." 
 
B) "The Method in Beijing's Madness" 
 
¶J. Michael Cole, a writer based in Taipei, opined in the 
pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" (12/6): 
 
"A tremendous amount of ink has been spilled in the past week over 
Beijing's 'surprise' about-face last month, when it denied the USS 
Kitty Hawk battle group entry into Hong Kong -- a snub made all the 
more unpalatable to Washington as it followed on the heels of a 
similar denial concerning two US minesweeping vessels. ... 
 
"Therein lies the new regional context, one where Japan and the US, 
longtime allies, are on the brink of reaching a new low on the 
military and diplomatic front. This has provided Beijing with a 
golden opportunity to drive a wedge between Tokyo and Washington at 
a time when the US is locked down in the Middle East, facing 
military overstretch and being pressured in both Japan and South 
Korea to lighten its military presence, and when the North Korean 
nuclear crisis is showing signs it could be resolved diplomatically. 
... 
 
"However 'contradictory,' irrational or childish Beijing's message 
may have been surrounding the Kitty Hawk incident, its decision to 
snub the US was anything but. It was, rather, a calculated effort 
taken by an increasingly confident China to divide and conquer, and 
taken straight out of the handbook on diplomatic realism. ..." 
 
YOUNG