VZCZCXYZ0003
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #0374/01 0771029
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171029Z MAR 08
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8389
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 7957
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 9211

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000374 
 
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: THE CHINESE CRACKDOWN ON THE DEMONSTRATIONS 
IN TIBET 
 
 
¶1. Summary:  Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused news 
coverage March 15-17 on China's brutal suppression of the 
demonstrations in Lhasa; on the presidential election; and the DPP's 
and the KMT's respective campaign rallies on Sunday.  Beijing's 
bloody suppression of demonstrations in Tibet received extensive 
editorial attention in Taiwan's newspapers, especially in 
pro-independence newspapers. 
 
¶2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, besides condemning the 
Chinese government's violent suppression of the unrest, most 
newspapers tried to use the incident in Tibet as a mirror of 
Taiwan's future, especially if Taiwan elects KMT presidential 
candidate Ma Ying-jeou as president.  A satirical cartoon on the 
opinion page of the pro-independence "Liberty Times" on March 17 
depicted Chinese President Hu Jintao standing on a tank calling KMT 
Ma Ying-jeou and telling Ma to learn from him how to deal with 
riots.  A commentary in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" 
criticized China's ruthless suppression of the Tibetan unrest, 
saying that Tibetans want freedom and to retain their culture.  A 
column in the "Apple Daily" implied that the DPP is going to use 
recent incidents in Tibet as leverage to make Taiwan's public 
opinion more favorable to itself before the presidential election. 
An editorial in the pro-independence "Liberty Times" urged the 
Taiwan people to see the true face of the Chinese Communists in 
light of the violent suppression in Tibet.  An editorial in the 
pro-independence, English-language daily "Taipei Times" suggested 
that China will not have an easy time of it, since the Beijing 
Olympics are approaching while the Tibet issue has broken out 
unexpectedly.  End summary. 
 
¶3. The Chinese Crackdown on the Demonstrations in Tibet 
 
A) "Blood-stained Tibet: A Mirror of Taiwan" 
 
Weng Shih-chieh, the Deputy Secretary-General of Taiwan-Tibet 
Exchange Foundation, opined in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" 
[circulation 520,000] (3/17): 
 
"... With the bloody suppression of Tibetans juxtaposed to China's 
self-proclaimed peaceful rise, ... what is left to this regime 
besides the essence of violence?  The Chinese Communists use state 
violence to destroy the state of Tibet and makes it hard to revive 
and re-establish [Tibet], which is the highest guiding principle of 
its Tibet policy.  This explains why China will resort to anything 
and all costs to continue trying to annihilate Tibet, consistent 
with the Chinese authorities' way of "assimilation or annihilation." 
 If China has done this to Tibet, will it have a different strategy 
toward Taiwan?  A bloody Tibet absolutely needs our compassion and 
support. At the same time, it is the best mirror for Taiwan." 
 
B) "The Distant Drumbeats" 
 
Antonio Chiang, a political analyst, commented in his daily column 
in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" [circulation: 520,000] 
(3/17): 
 
"... In fact, the Dalai Lama is the Chinese Communists' last chance 
to resolve the Tibet issue peacefully.  Once the Dalai Lama is no 
longer alive, the Tibetan independence [activists] will be more 
radical, because no one will be able to restrain them.  One day, if 
the Tibetan and the Xinjiang independence [movements] integrate and 
fight together, half of mainland China will be engulfed. 
 
"The Tibetan uprising and the KMT's one-China market have no 
correlation.  But to the DPP, it is like a distant drumbeat bringing 
inexplicable encouragement in the last days of the election 
campaign." 
 
C) "The Apocalypse of [Chinese] Suppression and the Tibetan Uprising 
- Taiwan Should Recognize the True Face of the Chinese Communists" 
 
The pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 720,000] 
editorialized (3/17) 
 
"... Nonetheless, Taiwan is in a circumstance more disadvantageous 
than that of Tibet in those years [1950s].  First, there is an 
internal divergence in national identity; some people [implying KMT 
presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou] advocate ultimate unification 
and agree with the one-China principle.  These all undoubtedly 
provide China the legitimacy to invade Taiwan.  These people, in the 
overall roadmap for ultimate unification, even propose an 
interactive structure [with China], such as a 'one-China market,' 
'cross-Strait common market,' or 'cross-Strait peace agreement, 
[with policies] from [encouraging] industries to look west, 
recognizing the Chinese [educational] credentials, allowing Chinese 
investors to purchase real estate in Taiwan, opening up Taiwan to 
Chinese tourists and Chinese goods, etc. and will make Taiwan 
integrate into China without notice and [make it] hard to separate 
IN TIBET 
 
[from China].  In other words, when the one-China market is 
achieved, it is not far from political unification as well.  Tibet 
was forced to make peace [with China] under military disadvantage in 
those years, but Taiwan at the moment has a significant force 
leaning towards China.  Therefore the circumstances in Taiwan are 
more dangerous than those of Tibet [in the 1950s]. ..." 
 
D) "Tibet: Now the Debacle Starts" 
 
The pro-independence, English-language daily "Taipei Times" 
[circulation: 30,000] editorialized (3/15): 
 
"... With the British government already expressing concern over the 
unrest in southwest China, it remains a matter of time before more 
conscientious governments in the West -- especially those in 
northern Europe -- begin to juggle the implications of recommending 
an Olympic boycott to the national Olympic committees. ... 
 
"There are five months until the Olympics. With this early outbreak 
of public anger against despotism, the time ahead is bound to 
increasingly rattle Olympic sponsors, frighten the Chinese 
government and unnerve even the most mercenary of International 
Olympic Committee bureaucrats. 
 
"For everyone else with a trace of conscience and a grasp of 
diplomacy, the truth is out: The Beijing Olympics debacle has 
begun." 
 
YOUNG