VZCZCXYZ0004
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #0645/01 1300938
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 090938Z MAY 08
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8889
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 8248
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 9492

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000645 
 
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: NEW THINKING IN TAIWAN'S DIPLOMACY 
 
 
Summary:  Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused news 
coverage May 9 on the latest development and investigation into 
Taiwan's Papua New Guinea (PNG) diplomatic fund scandal, and AIT 
Director Stephen Young's press conference.  In terms of editorials 
and commentaries, in light of the PNG fund scandal, there has been 
public opinion urging that the Taiwan government adopt new and 
pragmatic thinking to eliminate Taiwan's notorious "dollar 
diplomacy."  An op-ed in the centrist, KMT-leaning "China Times" 
took the example of 'secret diplomacy' of the United States and 
urged Taiwan's incoming government to change the old way of 
conducting diplomacy.  An editorial in the mass-circulation "Apple 
Daily" recommends that Taiwan's new government focus its efforts on 
cultivating relations with major countries, including the United 
States, instead of wasting money and effort on diplomatic relations 
that are instable.  An op-ed in the pro-independence, 
English-language "Taipei Times" provided arguments regarding China's 
mindset in limiting Taiwan's international space, and gave some 
recommendations to Taiwan's new government.  End summary. 
 
A) "Brokers Bullying; Failure in Governance" 
 
Liao Kun-jung, a political science professor and dean of the 
Department of Political Science at Taiwan's National Chung Cheng 
University, opined in the centrist, KMT-leaning "China Times" 
[circulation: 400,000] (5/9): 
 
"In fact, the United States as well is not short of experience in 
secret diplomacy.  For example, [former United States] President 
Richard Nixon once sent [former United States] Secretary of State 
Henry Kissinger to visit Beijing secretly and betrayed Taiwan 
clandestinely.  In order to fund the Nicaragua rebels, [former 
United States] President Ronald Reagan once deceived [the United 
States] Congress to conduct arms deals with Iran, which led to such 
a political crisis that Reagan almost had to step down.  The United 
States' secret diplomacy basically walks on the edge of the law and 
tries to avoid the supervision of the [United States] Congress or 
the [scrutiny of the] media.  However, when there is no supervision, 
[secret diplomacy] definitely falls into the ethical pitfalls.  This 
kind of experience is not worth learning from. 
 
"From 1971, after Taiwan withdrew from the United States, because of 
the isolation in diplomacy, [Taiwan's] government is almost affected 
with 'the illness of diplomatic isolation.'  [It is because Taiwan] 
follows the United States' every lead and goes astray without notice 
that [Taiwan] has to establish diplomatic ties with countries in the 
world, and has a general superstition that [Taiwan] can only have 
international space by establishing diplomatic ties [with other 
countries].  Every one of [Taiwan's] successive Ministers of Foreign 
Affairs was forced to 'go all out in getting achievements by 
establishing diplomatic ties.'  No matter whether a country is big, 
small, wealthy, poor, or even a small island, as long as [Taiwan] 
can establish diplomatic ties with it, [Taiwan] will go all out to 
pay out enormous amount of money and only stop when all the money is 
spent.  Sparing nothing financially to win diplomatic ties is 
[Taiwan's] wrong [cognition], which holds that being able to 
establish diplomatic ties is equivalent to having diplomacy and 
represents achievements in foreign affairs.  As a result, the first 
priority that [Taiwan's President-elect] Ma [Ying-jeou] and 
[Taiwan's Vice President-elect Vincent] Siew's upcoming 
administration has to face after taking office is not how many 
diplomatic ties with how many countries [Taiwan] can add; instead, 
it is how [Taiwan] can beat the worry of the 'panic of diplomatic 
isolation'? ..." 
 
B) "Not Like Getting Married; More Like Being A Sugar Daddy" [The 
original article satirizes that the way the Taiwan government 
squanders money in diplomacy makes all Taiwan's taxpayers like a 
sugar daddy] 
 
The mass-circulation "Apple Daily" [circulation: 520,000] 
editorialized (5/9): 
 
"... Concentrating diplomatic funds on cultivating relations with 
the United States' ruling and opposition parties is the most 
important [task].  The closer relation we [Taiwan] have with the 
United States, the more difficult for China to bully Taiwan, or 
especially invade Taiwan militarily.  Furthermore, if Taiwan has 
more bargaining chips when negotiating with China, there is greater 
space [for Taiwan] to maneuver in.  Taiwan can take advantage of the 
relation between Taiwan and the Untied States as leverage to 
constrain China; [Taiwan] might as well take the relation between 
Taiwan and China as leverage to constrain the United States.  Just 
as the United States does not want the relation between Taiwan and 
China to be too close, China does not want the relation between 
Taiwan and the United States to be too close.  These are where our 
niches lie, and [we] can win for our national interests by playing 
these two levers.  This will cost a lot, so [we] should concentrate 
finances instead of splitting our [financial] force to buy 
diplomatic ties with small countries.  Besides, it is also very 
 
important to purchase relations with Europe and Japan to form 
multiple poles composed of world powers in the international 
community to protect Taiwan's security and interests. ..." 
 
C) "Is Dollar Diplomacy Even Worth It?" 
 
Huang Su-jen, an Associate Professor of Sociology and Chair of the 
Department of Sociology at National Taipei University, opined in the 
pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" [circulation: 
30,000] (5/9): 
 
"... the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has set a strategic limit on 
the number of diplomatic allies it will allow Taiwan to retain.  It 
does not allow Taiwan to join the UN, forge diplomatic ties with big 
countries, have more than about 20 diplomatic allies, or maintain 
due dignity in the international community.  However, Beijing hasn't 
been in a rush to buy off all Taiwan's diplomatic allies either. 
 
"No matter how much it suppresses Taiwan's international space, 
China has left those 20 diplomatic allies or so untouched.  In other 
words, that is the number of Taiwanese allies China has decided it 
can tolerate. ... 
 
"However, if Beijing bought off all of Taiwan's diplomatic allies 
and isolatd Taiwan totally, it might force a desperate Taipei to 
make a reckless move and officially declare independence.  China 
would then have to resort to force to suppress the move toward 
independence, leading to international intervention and maybe even 
clashes between China and the US, striking a heavy blow to the 
Chinese economy. ... 
 
"However, if Taiwan manages to maintain diplomatic relations with a 
few countries, it is not because Taiwan is wealthier than China or 
because our diplomats are better, but because China has decided not 
to compete with us.  It is all a matter of China unilaterally 
deciding whether or not it will allow Taiwan to keep some 
international space. 
 
"So why would we want to spend a large amount of money forging 
futile diplomatic relations?  Of course this does not mean that we 
should refuse to provide assistance for deprived countries. 
 
"A rich country like Taiwan should take on the responsibility of 
assisting poor countries. But the purpose of assistance should be to 
offer humanitarian assistance and build connections rather than to 
buy diplomatic relations, because we can never win over China." 
 
YOUNG