VZCZCXYZ0018
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #0623 1270849
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 060849Z MAY 08
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8859
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 8234
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 9479

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000623 
 
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: SINO-JAPAN RELATIONS 
 
Summary:  Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused news 
coverage May 6 on the investigation into Taiwan's Papua New Guinea 
diplomatic fund scandal; Taiwan's second fatal enterovirus case this 
year; the new policy of Taiwan's Department of Health (DOH) 
regarding vitamins and drug categories; and on the leakage of 
personal information online during Taiwan's tax season.  In terms of 
editorials and commentaries, an editorial and a commentary in the 
pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times," based on the 
historical issues and the role of the United States and Taiwan in 
the region, cast doubt on the expectation that Sino-Japan relations 
will improve simply by Chinese President Hu Jintao's first state 
visit to Japan starting May 6.  End summary. 
 
A) "Will Japan Get in Bed with China?" 
 
The pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" [circulation: 
30,000] editorialized (5/6): 
 
"... But there are a few sticking points that are sure to put clouds 
among the high hopes for clearer skies in Sino-Japanese relations. 
 
"The first is the fact that Japan will express no outright 
opposition to Taiwanese independence in the joint statement, 
something that Beijing had vehemently requested.   Rather, Tokyo 
will maintain its position that it does not support a unilateral 
move toward independence by Taipei.  This is good news for Taiwan, 
which would have been dealt a severe blow had Tokyo abandoned its 
longstanding position on the issue. 
 
"By doing so, the Fukuda administration will be giving Taipei enough 
latitude to negotiate without the handicap of a substantive ally 
that has been muzzled.  Tokyo's refusal to change its position also 
underscores Taiwan's continued importance in Japan's strategic 
sphere and outer area of defense. 
 
"Which brings us to the second likely sticking point: the Liberal 
Democratic Party-led coalition's efforts, spearheaded by a 
referendum last year, to amend Article 9 of the Constitution, which 
since the end of World War II has made pacifism the modus operandi 
in Japan's international relations.  Pressured by the US to play a 
greater role in international security, some elements in Tokyo have 
seen this as an opportunity to break the shackles of the 
Constitution and give the military more opportunities to participate 
in missions abroad. 
 
"While the desire for a reinterpretation of Article 9 is a long way 
from overt militarism, Beijing is unlikely to react kindly to such 
developments - especially if it interprets the measures as a sign of 
a resurgent Japanese military or a means for the US and Japan to 
constrain China's actions internationally. ..." 
 
B) "A Fresh Start for China and Japan?" 
 
Jiang Wenran, the acting director of the China Institute at the 
University of Alberta and a senior fellow of the Asia Pacific 
Foundation of Canada, opined in the pro-independence, 
English-language "Taipei Times" [circulation: 30,000] (5/6): 
 
"... [Japan Prime Minister Yasuo] Fukuda has dropped [former Japan 
Prime Minister Shinzo] Abe's talk about an 'arch of freedom' - an 
effort to forge a bloc with the US, Australia and India.  But Japan 
remains concerned about China's rapidly modernizing military, while 
China worries about a potential US-Japan containment strategy for 
China, especially in the case of a crisis in the Taiwan Strait. 
 
"So, although both sides endorse the idea of a 'mutually beneficial 
strategic relationship,' and despite bilateral progress on military 
exchanges, mutual trust and confidence-building have a long way to 
go. ..." 
 
YOUNG