VZCZCXYZ0006
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #1713 3460728
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 110728Z DEC 08
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0537
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 8791
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0249

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001713 
 
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. FINANCIAL CRISIS 
 
Summary:  Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused December 
11 news coverage on the contention over the state-run enterprises' 
year-end bonuses; on the controversy surrounding Taiwan legislators' 
possible U.S. citizenship; and on the Taiwan High Court's decision 
to nullify the election of a KMT legislator on charges of vote 
buying.  In terms of editorials and commentaries, an op-ed in the 
mass-circulation "Apple Daily," written by a Ph.D. candidate at a 
PRC university, discussed the way the U.S. government is handling 
the current financial crisis and said the United States has again 
adopted similar strategies to "beat down on other countries while at 
the same time strengthening itself."  End summary. 
 
"[Financial] Crisis of the United States, [But the Bill Is] Paid by 
Other Countries" 
 
Wu Fang-ming, a Ph.D. candidate at the School of Economics and 
Management in Beijing's Tsinghua University, opined in the 
mass-circulation "Apple Daily" [circulation: 520,000] (12/11): 
 
"... The [discussion regarding] who is paying the bill for the U.S. 
[financial] crisis has again verified that in the financial and 
economic crises of recent times, the U.S. government has adopted 
similar strategies to suppress other [countries] while at the same 
time strengthening itself:  taking advantage of the unique edge 
enjoyed by the U.S. currency in the global financial system and 
dispersing the crisis to other countries, and beating down or even 
destroying, those countries that are on the rise.  The financial 
storm in Asia [in 1997] was a typical 'financial/currency war,' 
which resulted in significant depreciation of the Asian currencies 
against the greenback, in order to reduce import prices and the 
inflation rate in the United States.  That way [the United States] 
was able to take over businesses that either went bankrupt or whose 
value dropped considerably by paying very low prices and thereby 
stimulating the [market's] needs for U.S. dollars.  If one looks at 
the current financial tsunami from such a perspective, [one can tell 
that] neither Washington nor Wall Street is as fragile as tofu and 
they will not easily collapse at the first blow.  Instead, [the way 
Washington handled the financial crisis] contains a shrewd strategic 
intent and implies a model of re-distribution of global wealth: 
interests [go to] the United States while risks are shared by the 
globe.  The United States is thus a one hundred percent 
'unilateralist' hegemon!  Perhaps this is one of the reasons why it 
has become the super hegemon of the world." 
 
YOUNG