VZCZCXYZ0002
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #1567/01 3110942
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 060942Z NOV 08
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0276
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 8710
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0157

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001567 
 
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. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 
 
¶1. Summary:  Taiwan's major Chinese- and English-language dailies 
all gave significant straight news reporting and editorial coverage 
November 6 to the election of Democrat Barack Obama as the next U.S. 
president.  News coverage also focused on the mass protests in 
Taipei Wednesday against the visit of Chairman Chen Yunlin of 
China's Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait. 
 
¶2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, an analysis in the 
pro-independence "Liberty Times" criticized Ma Ying-jeou for eagerly 
tilting toward Beijing while the United States was engaged in its 
presidential election.  The article said the status quo across the 
Taiwan Strait, which is highly valued by the United States, is 
"undergoing quantitative and qualitative changes."  Editorials in 
the mass-circulation "Apple Daily," pro-unification "United Daily 
News" and the centrist, KMT-leaning "China Times" all hailed the 
Obama victory and U.S. progress in ethnic equality.  A separate 
"United Daily News" op-ed urged the Ma Ying-jeou administration to 
start close communication with Obama's foreign policy advisors 
before he assumes office, so as to lay a foundation of mutual trust 
between Taiwan and the new U.S. administration.  A "China Times" 
op-ed said Obama's Asia policy advisers are clearly aware of the 
complexity of the cross-Strait situation, so the chances are slim 
for him to tip in favor of China.  A separate "China Times" op-ed 
hailed Obama's election and spelled out several thorny issues that 
he will have to face.  An editorial in the conservative, 
pro-unification, English-language "China Post" praised Obama's 
victory as a manifestation of democracy and the need for change.  An 
editorial in the pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" 
also applauded Obama's victory and said the Democrats are now more 
likely to take a firm stance against China and Taiwan's KMT 
administration on human rights and democracy issues than its rival 
Republicans.  End summary. 
 
A) "United States Fully Engaged in its Presidential Election, While 
the Ma Administration Is Busy Tilting toward China" 
 
Journalist Su Yung-yao noted in an analysis in the pro-independence 
"Liberty Times" [circulation: 700,000] (11/6): 
 
"Barack Obama was elected U.S. president Wednesday.  While it still 
takes time for [Obama's] national security team to take shape and 
start operations, major changes have taken place in the Taiwan 
Strait.  The 'maintaining of the status quo across the Taiwan 
Strait,' which the United States has highly valued, is currently 
undergoing quantitative and qualitative changes.  The cross-Strait 
situation is quickly tipping in favor of China, particularly as the 
Ma administration is eager to negotiate with Beijing while 
Washington is fully engaged in its presidential election. ... 
 
"Previously Taiwan was able to have the upper hand strategically [in 
terms of its interactions with Beijing], but with the Ma 
administration taking over the helm beginning May 20, the island has 
unduly and suddenly been seeking so-called reconciliation and 
goodwill gesture from Beijing, while the international environment 
is not necessarily favorable for Taiwan.  All the other forces that 
are friendly with Taiwan, such as the United States, can only stand 
aside and watch [such a development]. ...  The Ma Administration may 
argue that the U.S. State Department has said that it welcomes the 
resumption of dialogue between Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation 
and China's Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait.  But 
what else can other countries such as the United States say when 
even Taiwan itself is unwilling to attach importance to [and take 
advantage of] the power that is in favor of the island?  What is 
more worrisome for the United States is that at this moment, when 
there is a short period of power vacuum in the Taiwan Strait, 
Taipei's tilt toward China has enabled Beijing quickly to fill the 
void. ..." 
 
B) "The Seventh Evolution of the United States" 
 
The mass-circulation "Apple Daily" [circulation: 500,000] 
editorialized (11/6): 
 
"... Barack Obama is about to face very severe challenges, but his 
election has sent a clear signal to the world:  The Americans have 
climbed over the high mountains of ethnic antagonism and succeeded 
with a soft landing, both psychologically and ideologically.  Such 
self-innovative rationality, courage, capability and mechanics will 
be sufficient to make the United States a great country, if not the 
only superpower, in the 21st century." 
 
C) "Obama: New American Dream, New American Values" 
 
The pro-unification "United Daily News" [circulation: 400,000] 
editorialized (11/6): 
 
"... It is noteworthy that Barack Obama's unique background -- 
having a Caucasian mother, an African father and an Indonesian 
stepfather, being raised in Hawaii and having a Muslim middle name 
 
-- has resulted in his habit of thinking 'marginally.'  This has not 
only enabled him to keep balance, but his view of the world also 
tends to tilt toward universal values that are more tolerant and 
diversified, in contrast to Washington D.C.-centered pride and 
prejudice.  Judging from this perspective, it is expected that he 
will be able to reconstruct U.S. values, lead the United States with 
'pluralism' to regain recognition from the world, and renounce 
[President] Bush's 'unilaterialist' hegemonic leadership.  At least, 
tension between the United States and the Islamic world will be 
alleviated immediately.  One must not forget that the results of 
various surveys have showed that over eighty percent of the people 
in other countries, including Taiwan, if they had the right to vote, 
would pick Obama.  Such wide, trans-national support will be a 
valuable asset for Obama to reconstruct U.S. confidence and values. 
..." 
 
D) "Stabilizing the New Triangular Relationship" 
 
Alexander Huang, an assistant professor at the Graduate Institute of 
International Affairs and Strategic Studies at Tamkang University, 
opined in the pro-unification "United Daily News" [circulation: 
420,000] (11/6): 
 
"... The election of Obama to as president comes at a critical 
juncture, when the United States is facing significant economic and 
diplomatic predicaments and the rise and decline of strong powers. 
Facing China's rapid rise economically and militarily, the United 
States is unlikely to ignore Beijing's clout in international 
affairs.  When dealing with the triangular relationship of the 
United States, China and Taiwan, our country should avoid making 
trouble, [which would] thereby force Obama to seek Beijing's 
assistance to stabilize the situation across the Taiwan Strait.  On 
the contrary, [Taiwan] should make efforts in improving cross-Strait 
relations, which is the pillar to uphold the framework where the 
three bilateral relationships of the U.S.-Taiwan, U.S.-China, and 
cross-Strait will simultaneously operate well.  Only by such an 
approach can our country [Taiwan] maintain the right to speak in the 
triangular relationship." 
 
E) "Revelations of Obama's [Victory]:  Yes, Change We Want" 
 
The centrist, KMT-leaning "China Times" [circulation: 220,000] 
editorialized 911/6): 
 
"... The immediate significance manifested by Barack Obama's 
election is, without a doubt, that U.S. society has made a big step 
ahead toward ethnic equality. ... Even until the eve of the voting, 
many people still could not believe that all the polling results 
showed that Obama was in the lead.  The fact that the United States 
has elected an African-American president indicates that the 
tolerance of ethnic equality in U.S. society has truly made a 
significant progress. ... 
 
"In short, the election of Obama signifies the commencement of a new 
era of ethnic equality; it also signifies that the international 
situation will begin to change, and that there will be a brand new 
turning point for the global financial and economic order.  Obama's 
election is not merely a victory for himself or the Democratic 
Party; it also marks the beginning of 'change' that world citizens 
are looking forward to." 
 
F) "An Election That Has Rewritten the U.S. History" 
 
Dr. Lin Cheng-yi, a research fellow at the Institute of European and 
American Studies, Academia Sinica., opined in the centrist, 
KMT-leaning "China Times" [circulation: 220,000] (11/6): 
 
"... Obama sees China as a competitor, not an enemy, and he regards 
Japan as an ally.  He is concerned with China's manipulation of the 
exchange rate of the Renminbi.  The United States must express its 
disagreement to China in terms of the latter's intellectual property 
rights, human rights record, environmental protection, and its 
policy toward Sudan and Iran.  China needs to play the role of a 
responsible big country, and the United States also needs to be 
vigilant and closely monitor China's enhancement of its strategic 
capabilities.  Obama hopes that the United States and China can join 
hands in addressing the challenges of nuclear proliferation and 
global warming.  Obama supports arms sales to Taiwan and 
confidence-building measures across the Taiwan Strait. 
 
"Even though Obama does not appear to support Taiwan as obviously as 
John McCain, his Asia policy advisers such as Jeffrey Bader and 
Richard Bush of the Brookings Institution are clearly aware of the 
complexity of the cross-Strait situation.  As a result, the chances 
are slim for him to tip in favor of China. ..." 
 
G) "Obama's American Dreams and Challenges" 
 
Freelancer Wu Fang-ming wrote in the "International Column" in the 
 
centrist, KMT-leaning "China Times" [circulation: 220,000] (11/6): 
 
"... However, behind [what Barack Obama once said] that 'everything 
is possible in my American dream,' the new leader of the United 
States is going to face a series of thorny issues domestically and 
internationally, which will be the most critical situation to deal 
with since [the time of] Abraham Lincoln.  First, with respect to 
international relations or the world order, after the Iraq war, the 
gap between the United States' actual strength and the requirement 
of the United States to be a global leader is getting bigger.  The 
circumstances even resulted in the United States isolating itself 
[from the international community] by [pursuing] unilateralism.  The 
countries of the world did not want to follow the lead [of the 
United States].  What was left were only boos and the notoriety of 
[the United States] being a unilateral hegemonic leader. 
 
"Second, with respect to the economy, Obama will face three major 
economic difficulties which are: saving the sluggish economy; 
stabilizing the financial system and rebuild the heavily impacted 
financial system; and trade policy with China. ...  China has become 
a leading United States creditor and economic partner.  The mutual 
reliance [between China and the United States] economically is 
growing.  However, the United States will have to handle carefully 
the concerns over whether the United States will become 
protectionist [country] that China and developing countries have 
been worried about in terms of disagreements on issues such as 
textile quotas, the appreciation of the Chinese Yuan, and trade 
deficits. ..." 
 
H) "Barack Obama's Victory Signifies Need for Change" 
 
The conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post" 
[circulation: 30,000] editorialized (11/6): 
 
"Barack Obama's overwhelming win in the U.S. presidential race 
proves that the United States is really a democratic and peaceful 
nation.  It is an historic achievement that symbolizes the end of 
racial prejudice. ...  Obama has won the race mainly by emphasizing 
the need for change - a message that has resonated with the voting 
public.  Most Americans have suffered greatly from a prolonged 
financial crisis, a situation they blame on George W. Bush, the 
current Republican President. ... 
 
"He and his Democratic majority on Capitol Hill now face the task of 
governing the United States through a difficult period.  Ironically, 
the circumstances that contributed to his victory will test his 
ability to lead the country. ...  People in Taiwan are unavoidably 
concerned whether the United States, with Obama as its head of 
state, will continue to provide the island with the military aid it 
needs in defending against a possible attack from mainland China. 
In our view, the U.S. government won't significantly change its 
policy toward either Taiwan or mainland China, because a peaceful 
Taiwan Strait will be in the best interests of America." 
 
I) "Obama's Triumph Good News for Taiwan" 
 
The pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" [circulation: 
20,000] editorialized (11/6): 
 
"... Obama's status as the first black American to be president of 
the United States is full of historical significance and is being 
welcomed worldwide as a symbol of triumph over slavery and racial 
prejudice as well as a triumph for ordinary citizens and progressive 
values over elitism and ultraconservative or even reactionary 
social, culture and political forces in the world's only superpower. 
...  However, it is important to note that the most important factor 
in his victory and of the Democratic Party in both houses of 
Congress was the resolve and passion of young, minority and 
progressive voters opposed to the illegal and disastrous war against 
Iraq conducted by incumbent Republican president George W. Bush and 
against Iraq and the associated deterioration of the U.S. economy, 
social welfare and human rights standards within the U.S. and Bush's 
fatal unilateralism and disdain for global human rights, 
environmental, labor and moral standards in his foreign policy. ... 
 
"Since Obama will be initially be occupied with global economic and 
domestic social issues, the change in power next Jan. 20 is unlikely 
to immediately impact on Washington's policies toward Taiwan. 
Nevertheless, we believe that the return of Democratic Party 
governance should at least benefit Taiwan indirectly, especially if 
he is able to pull the U.S. out of the Iraqi morass and restore a 
multilateral diplomacy. ...  In addition, the future Obama 
administration is likely to adopt a firm stance on many issues in 
Sino-American relations, including China's export of "black heart" 
defective and dangerous foods, beverages and other goods to the 
United States, just like to Taiwan and other countries and perhaps 
even press Beijing to enhance labor standards, improve environmental 
protection, improve food and product safety standards and other 
measures that will help 'even the playing field' and promote fairer 
 
trade. 
 
"Taiwan's democracy should also benefit from the fact that the 
Democratic Party is historically also more concerned with issues of 
international human rights and democracy than its conservative 
rival, and the Obama administration and the Democratic congressional 
leadership will include numerous officials or congresspersons who 
have a high commitment to promoting human rights. Therefore, Obama's 
triumph will likely generate 'inconvenience' for Taiwan's newly 
restored rightist ruling Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang), 
which has long had a 'community of values' with the far-right wing 
of the Republican Party, especially in the decades of authoritarian 
rule under KMT autocrat Chiang Kai-shek and his son Ching-kuo. ... 
Even if many of his foreign policy advisers look favorably on the 
resumption of cross-strait dialogue between the KMT government and 
the PRC as conducive for regional peace, it is open to question 
whether Obama will accept a rollback of Taiwan's democracy and human 
rights or the revival of KMT authoritarianism or even the transfer 
of 'Democratic Taiwan' into the PRC as the price tag. A shared set 
of values, including democracy, human rights, freedom and 
sustainability, between the Democratic Party and Taiwan's Democratic 
Progressive Party and Taiwanese civic and social reform 
organizations, can provide a foundation for dialogue that may be 
essential to keep the lighthouse of East Asian democracy shining in 
Taiwan." 
 
YOUNG