VZCZCXYZ0004
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #0514/01 1051010
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 141010Z APR 08
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8675
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 8157
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 9393

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000514 
 
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 BOAO FORUM FOR ASIA (BFA) 
 
 
¶1. Summary:  Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused news 
coverage April 12-14 on Taiwan Vice President-elect Vincent Siew's 
historic meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao.  The interaction 
between the Chinese government and Siew's delegation was the focal 
of local media attention as well.  New York Yankees' Taiwan pitcher 
Wang Chien-ming pitched a two-hit complete game to lead the New York 
Yankees to a 4-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on 
Friday, and this received extensive coverage in local media over the 
weekend. 
 
¶2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, an editorial in the 
"China Times" urged both Taiwan and China to take a pragmatic 
attitude in cross-Strait relations.  An opinion piece in the "United 
Daily News" said the model of Siew and Hu's meeting should set a 
precedent in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum this 
year.  An editorial in "Apple Daily" criticized both the Blue and 
the Green camps for having wrong perspectives on the Siew-Hu 
meeting.  A column in "Apple Daily" said the United States was 
watching closely at the meeting and welcomed the new tone of 
U.S.-China-Taiwan relations after Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian 
steps down.  A commentary in "Apple Daily" said that the United 
States must have mixed feelings when seeing that the new KMT 
government is leaning towards China.  End summary. 
 
A) "Let the Pragmatic and Win-Win Return and Become the Main Shaft 
in the Cross-Strait Thought" 
 
The centrist, KMT-leaning "China Times" [circulation: 400,000] 
editorialized (4/14): 
 
"... If the 'pursuit of win-win' that [Taiwan's Vice 
President-elect] Vincent Siew advocated and the 'joint creation of 
win-win' that [Chinese President] Hu Jintao replied [to Siew] can be 
used as a footnote of this Siew-Hu summit, maybe we can 
optimistically expect that both sides across the Taiwan Strait enter 
a 'pragmatic' generation, which will start in the second half of 
this year.  Negotiations regarding functional and technical issues 
will become leading issues in the interaction across the Taiwan 
Strait in the coming years.  Whether there will be more creative 
breakthroughs in issues which are thornier, such as the World Health 
Assembly and APEC, will be a test of the benign interaction between 
two sides across the Taiwan Strait in the next stage. ..." 
 
B) "Boao Can; No Reason APEC Cannot" 
 
Chen Chien-chung, a researcher in the National Policy Foundation, 
opined in the pro-unification "United Daily News" [circulation: 
400,000] (4/14): 
 
" ... The biggest achievement of Siew and Hu's meeting is the 
reciprocal model of the direct contact of the highest-level leaders 
between two sides across the Taiwan Strait, instead of concrete 
measures such as opening charter and direct flights across the 
Taiwan Strait and opening [Taiwan] to Mainland tourists.  The 
Beijing authorities' various creative and benign arrangements for 
Siew have created a new space for dealing with meetings between 
high-level officials of both sides across the Strait.  Although the 
Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) is an economic forum held by China, the 
model of Siew and Hu's meeting will set an example for the APEC held 
in September.  If Boao can, there is no reason that APEC cannot.  If 
the Beijing authorities are willing to go a step further by using 
the Boao model in several international organizations such as APEC, 
the rift between Taiwan and China, which is a politically lukewarm 
and economically warm rift, will be bridged at a certain level. 
..." 
 
C) "A Deviation on the Meeting between Siew and Hu" 
 
 The mass-circulation "Apple Daily" [circulation: 520,000] 
editorialized (4/14): 
 
"... Taiwan's ruling and opposition parties have several biases on 
the cross-Strait meeting [between Siew and Hu].  The KMT and the 
Blue camp generally think that Taiwan's economy is in a difficult 
position.  It is necessary to open economic and trade relations with 
China to rescue Taiwan's economy, otherwise [Taiwan's economy] will 
be at a dead end.  As a result, it is Taiwan that has requests for 
China.  The DPP and the Green camp think that talking about economic 
and trade issues with China is like asking a tiger for its skin. 
China will utilize commercial issues to besiege political [issues] 
or nibble up and annex Taiwan's sovereignty just like slurping down 
a frog. 
 
"The Blue camp's perspectives are wrong.  Frankly speaking, if China 
does not need Taiwan, why does China talk with Taiwan?  [China's] 
long-term goal is definitely unification, but its mid-term goal is 
to improve relations with Taiwan and break the United States' 
strategic blockage.  [China's] short-term goal is to divert the 
international community's concerns on the Tibet issue and improve 
 
its international image for the sake of successfully holding the 
Olympic Games.  Moreover, unobstructed economic and trade relations 
with Taiwan will be a great advantage to China's economy. 
 
"The Green camp's perspectives are ill-judged as well.  [Taiwan's 
President-elect] Ma Ying-jeou has vowed not to talk about 
unification with China.  Also, it needs to go through referendum 
procedures regarding Taiwan's unification [with China] or 
independence.  It will be extremely difficult to either sell out 
Taiwan [to China] or unify [with China].  Taiwan's sovereignty 
awareness has been very difficult to shake, so what is there to 
worry about?  Opening Taiwan to Mainland tourists is fair to Taiwan, 
and why to reject it?  Taiwan's tourists and expenses in China in 
recent many years have been an enormous figure.  Why is it wrong to 
let [Chinese tourists] contribute to Taiwan in return? 
 
"We support the model of Siew and Hu's meeting and hope this is the 
outset of a win-win [situation]." 
 
D) "The Calabash of the Meeting between Siew and Hu" 
[Ed. Note:  refers to a legendary immortal who kept mysterious 
remedies hidden inside a hollow-out calabash (gourd).] 
Columnist Antonio Chiang wrote in his column in the mass-circulation 
"Apple Daily" [circulation: 520,000] (4/14): 
 
"... However, every bit of this [the meeting between Siew and Hu] 
has been under the United States' close watch.  The United States 
had already known the arrangement.  After the meeting, the KMT and 
Beijing will simultaneously brief Washington.  The tune of 
U.S.-China-Taiwan relations after the A-Bian administration will be 
re-set." 
 
E) "The Thaw across the Taiwan Strait Needs to be Evaluated Slowly" 
 
Lu I-ming, former publisher of the Taiwan Shin Sheng Daily News, 
opined in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" [circulation: 520,000] 
(4/14): 
 
"... Although the United States said on the surface that it is happy 
to see the 'Siew-Hu meeting', it must have a mixed feeling in its 
heart.  That is because the incoming KMT government is regarded by 
international media as having 'pro-China' tendencies.  Once the two 
sides across the Taiwan Strait open the three links and enter into a 
cooperative frontier of mutual trust, mutual consideration, mutual 
help, and mutual benefit, [Taiwan's] arms purchase from the United 
States will gradually decrease, for example.  How 
'U.S.-China-Taiwan-Japan' relations evolve in the future will be the 
real focus of the international community! 
 
"The United States certainly knows that China's missile deployment 
not only targets Taiwan but also poses threat to its homeland. 
Furthermore, the military budget of the Chinese Communists is almost 
a google, and even Japan is afraid of it.  Several politicians and 
academics have been worried that China will enjoy giving some 
sweeteners to the incoming KMT government.  As a result, the Ma-Siew 
team has to reinforce its cooperation with the DPP to hold the 
bargaining chips and backup when negotiating with China and as a 
result fulfill the maintenance of Taiwan's rights." 
 
YOUNG