VZCZCXYZ0014
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #0074/01 0200941
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 200941Z JAN 09
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0771
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 8883
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0335

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000074 
 
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: OBAMA'S INAUGURATION, HILLARY CLINTON'S 
NOMINATION 
 
¶1. Summary:  Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused their 
January 17-20 news coverage on the Taiwan government's distribution 
of consumption vouchers Sunday, a move aimed at stimulating Taiwan's 
economy; on the first of three pre-trial hearings on former 
President Chen Shui-bian's legal cases; and on U.S. President Barack 
Obama's inauguration Tuesday. 
 
¶2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, an editorial in the 
pro-independence "Liberty Times" praised U.S. President Obama's 
recent speeches, in which he mentioned American values of 
independence and democracy, and lamented Taiwan President Ma 
Ying-jeou and his foreign policy.  An op-ed piece in the 
mass-circulation "Apple Daily" spelled out the challenges facing the 
Obama Administration and said both Obama's and Secretary of 
State-designee Hillary Clinton's attitude toward Beijing is friendly 
but overly naive.  An editorial in the pro-unification "United Daily 
News" commented on the implication of Obama's inauguration, saying 
it fulfills former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's "dream of 
equality" in U.S. society.  The editorial expressed strong optimism 
on Obama's coming into office in the midst of challenges 
domestically and internationally.  A column in the centrist, 
KMT-leaning "China Times," on the other hand, discussed Obama's team 
and said he is daring enough to hire outstanding rivals as his team 
members.  An editorial in the conservative, pro-unification, 
English-language "China Post" also expressed optimism and high 
expectations for Obama assuming office, calling him a hope not only 
for the United States but also for all of Asia.  An editorial in the 
pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" urged Obama "to 
reject both Bush's unilateralism and Hu's arrogance and back the 
need for a 'democratic solution' in the Taiwan Strait. ..."  A 
separate "Taiwan News" editorial said that, while Obama will refocus 
U.S. policy on "responsibility" and multilateralism, which is 
different from that of his predecessor George W. Bush, the Ma 
Ying-jeou Administration must reassess its strategic positioning and 
future policy direction in U.S.-China-Taiwan relations.  A separate 
"China Post" editorial discussed the nomination of Hillary Clinton 
as Secretary of State and praised her for being "the right person at 
the right time."  End summary. 
 
¶3. Obama's Inauguration 
 
A) "Look at Barack Obama's High-spirited Enthusiasm! Wonder Where 
Taiwan's Leader Is?" 
 
The pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 700,000] 
editorialized (1/20): 
 
"... Shouldering high expectations of the American people for 
novelty and for change, U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is about 
to assume office as the United States' 44th president today.  As the 
first African-American head of state born on this new continent in 
the course of the past 220 years, [Obama] has announced constantly 
over the past few days that he will follow the spirit of the 
nation's founding fathers and lead the American people to walk into 
a new era.  The values upheld by Obama were nothing but independence 
and democracy, the two most important pillars that support the Obama 
era.  The same two pillars, which also provide core inspiration for 
Taiwan to promote new relations with the United States, are indeed 
ringing words which warn people against lurking danger. ... 
 
"Taiwan and the United States have long shared a common language of 
democracy, and they also share common interests in the Asia-Pacific 
region.  With the Bush regime coming to an end, whatever ambiance 
that existed between Taiwan and the United States over the past 
eight years has already become transient like clouds and mist 
passing before the eyes.  When he assumed office, Ma Ying-jeou 
announced to all the Taiwan people that he would strengthen 
cooperative ties with the United States, a security ally and trade 
partner.  He really should no longer shirk responsibility using [the 
excuse of] 'Taiwan suffering unprecedented damage in its 
international support'.  With Obama rising to power, personnel 
reshuffling will be in process in the new U.S. administration.  Even 
though it is generally expected that Washington's Asia policy 
direction will not change much under the fixed framework, there have 
been reports saying that many people who are friendly with Taiwan 
will be invited to hold major positions in the new administration. 
The trend has also created ample room for imagination for Taiwan to 
advance and strengthen its relations with the United States. ..." 
 
B) "The First One Hundred Days of Barack Obama" 
 
Former National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Parris 
Chang opined in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" [circulation: 
520,000] (1/20): 
 
"... The attitude of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton toward Beijing 
is basically friendly but overly naive.  Clinton believes that 
U.S.-China relations will be the most important bilateral 
NOMINATION 
 
relationship in the world for this century, and she emphasizes 
intimate cooperation between the two countries. ...  Over the past 
few years, many U.S. defense secretaries have constantly questioned 
the real motive behind China's strong efforts to push for military 
expansion and modernization.  They also expressed doubt about 
China's constant increase in its defense budget and lack of 
transparency in its military policy.  Due to such factors, the 
United States has had to adopt a strategy of 'making a double bet,' 
sending six carrier battle groups and three seconds of its nuclear 
submarines to deploy in the Pacific area (with Guam as a base) to 
prevent and deter China from using force against Taiwan and other 
countries.  It remains to be seen whether the new national security 
team under Obama will be able to tell friend from foe, seize its 
opportunity and welcome new challenges." 
 
C) "Obama's Inauguration: Today Is Lincoln's Big Day!" 
 
The pro-unification "United Daily News" [circulation: 400,000] 
editorialized (1/20): 
 
"... Indeed, the United States nowadays needs a president with a 
better imagination.  In the last few decades, with an attitude that 
took for granted that 'the United States President is the leader of 
the world,' the United States acted unilaterally with its hegemonic 
intuition and ignored the feelings of other countries.  Especially, 
during the term of Bush Junior [George W. Bush], the spirit of 
unilateralism and realism were brought into full play.  Therefore, 
after eight years, the United States faces hostility because of its 
invasion [of other countries]; [and the United States] brought 
financial disaster to the world because of its loose management [of 
financial markets], both of which made Washington become a negative 
example that the whole world looked askance at it.  Such arrogant 
and self-centered thinking indeed requires a leader like [United 
States President-elect Barack] Obama, whose political experience is 
not abundant, who espouses certain ideals and yet is not naive, [in 
order] to have an opportunity to revamp thoroughly. ..." 
 
D) "Barack Obama Daring Enough to Hire Outstanding Rivals [for His 
Team]" 
 
Deputy Editor-in-Chief Kuo Chen-lung wrote in the "International 
Column" of the centrist, KMT-leaning "China Times" [circulation: 
150,000] (1/20): 
 
"... The United States has just been awakened by surprise from the 
nightmare of Iraq, so it seems unlikely that the Obama 
Administration will jump into another unworthy war again.  But many 
people are now worried that the financial and economic team under 
Obama will have problems figuring out how to steer correctly, and 
that they might use erroneous means and fall into another financial 
or economic trap.  Among Obama's financial and economic team, its 
chief, Lawrence Summers and Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy 
Geithner are the ones who people are most worried about. ..." 
 
E) "Obama Is Also Asia's Hope" 
 
The conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post" 
[circulation: 30,000] editorialized (1/20): 
 
"... President Obama's rise to high office reads something like a 
fairy tale and is the most powerful proof of the triumph of the 
American Dream. ...  President Obama represents a new, 21st century 
America.  He is white and black and even a bit Asian.  He is a 
Christian with a Buddhist stepsister who also had two Muslim 
fathers.  He has relatives in Africa and Asia as well as distant 
European ancestors.  And, while he chose to identify himself as a 
black man in college, he was actually raised by his white maternal 
grandparents.  In short, Obama is a little bit of everything, just 
like America herself.  President Obama will spend his first full day 
in the White House, a palace largely built by African slaves.  The 
symbolism of Obama's electoral victory has not been lost on the 
world and many view him as the embodiment of hope. 
 
"All across the planet, people are eagerly hoping that the positive 
change in direction Obama has promised will bring the United States, 
and by extension, the entire globe, back from the edge of peril. 
It's a lot for one man to shoulder, even if he is Barack Obama.  The 
world has changed over the past 30 years.  China is now the world's 
third largest economy and from the looks of it, this century is 
shaping up to be dominated by Asian power players.  Having a U.S. 
President who understands Asia and Asians on an intimate basis is a 
positive development for the whole world.  Many here in Asia welcome 
the arrival of a man with such close links to the region and hope 
that his presidency will help draw America closer to the planet's 
most populated, vibrant and colorful continent.  So, welcome to your 
new job, President Obama.  We here in Asia are rooting for you." 
 
F) "Advice from Taiwan for President Obama" 
NOMINATION 
 
 
The pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" [circulation: 
20,000] editorialized (1/19): 
 
"Tomorrow, the Democratic Party's Barack Obama will be inaugurated 
as the 44th president of the United States and the first 
African-American citizen to hold that honor and burden.  We 
sincerely hope President Obama can fulfill his promises to forge 
long-belated changes needed by the people of the U.S. and the world 
and especially reincorporate the values of human rights and the 
needs of the globe's disadvantaged into U.S. foreign policy. ...  In 
light of future U.S. policy toward Taiwan, we also urge President 
Obama and his foreign policy team to appreciate the importance of 
our democratic island nation and handle its policy toward our 
relations with the authoritarian People's Republic of China with 
more caution and 'smartness.'  It is likely that the Obama 
administration will 'say and do less' with regard to the Taiwan 
Strait during its first months as Washington will be preoccupied 
with other urgent 'hot potatoes' and will welcome the apparent 
cross-strait rapprochement under the Chinese Nationalist Party 
(Kuomintang) government of President Ma Ying-jeou and may try to 
avoid 'taking sides.' 
 
"Such a passive stance will do more harm than good to both the 
prospects for lasting stability and peace in the Taiwan Strait and 
for the very survival of Taiwan's democracy largely because it 
overlooks potential uncertainties embedded with the nature of the 
current so-called 'reconciliation' process which, unfortunately, is 
taking place on a stage primarily constructed and controlled by the 
PRC. ...  We strongly suggest the Ma administration not to rush to 
issue a unilateral reaction to Hu's six-point political trap but use 
greater patience and engage in consultations with the new U.S. 
administration as well as engage in serious dialogue with the DPP 
and the rest of Taiwan society. 
 
"For its part, the Obama administration should also appreciate the 
deep mistrust in Taiwan society over the hasty and unilateral drive 
for cross-strait 'reconciliation' launched by the Ma regime on 
Beijing's terms and over the KMT-CCP platform which monopolizes 
political talks but lies outside any democratic monitoring. ... 
 
"Some U.S. foreign policy experts advise the Obama administration to 
adopt a stance of 'strategic ambiguity' and 'say and do less' on 
Taiwan on the grounds that Washington needs the PRC's cooperation on 
international security and economic affairs and to avoid following 
in the footsteps of the Bush administration which allegedly sent 
'wrong signals' that indirectly encouraged former president Chen 
Shui-bian to 'push the envelope' for formal Taiwan independence. 
Such misguided positions are a flawed solution to 'yesterday's 
problem' and neglect the costs today of the Bush administration's 
support for a 'regime change' in Taiwan that brought back to power a 
pro-China and quasi-authoritarian party whose unilateral willingness 
to accept Beijing's terms threatens the survival of one of Asia's 
democratic success stories and may sow the seeds of greater tragedy 
and conflict.  Instead, we urge President Obama to reject both 
Bush's unilateralism and Hu's arrogance and back a the need for a 
'democratic solution' in the Taiwan Strait that can both secure 
lasting peace and prevent a rollback of democracy and human rights 
in Taiwan and the East Asian region." 
 
G) "Time for Ma to Clarify Taiwan's Direction" 
 
 The pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" [circulation: 
20,000] editorialized (1/20): 
 
"Today's inauguration of United States President Barack Obama of the 
Democratic Party will attract intense attention from around the 
world since there are high expectations that his inaugural speech 
will indicate the direction of a chance in U.S. policy from eight 
years of American unilateralism and free market fundamentalism under 
the outgoing right-wing Republican administration of George W. Bush. 
 In terms of external relations, Obama should enunciate his 
intention to refocus U.S. policy on 'responsibility' and to move 
forward to coping worldwide crises in finance and climate change, 
dealing with the disastrous legacy of Bush's war in Iraq, and repair 
America's tattered image as a protector of democracy and human 
rights. 
 
"Besides reviving domestic public confidence, Obama is also likely 
to renew the U.S. commitment to multilateral cooperation with 
democratic allies and continue to 'constructively but not 
uncritically engage' the People Republic of China to bring Beijing 
more firmly into multilateral rules-based institutions that 
guarantee global stability. ...  U.S. policy makers under Bush were 
by no means fully supportive of Taiwan's democratic deepening since 
they wrongly perceived these efforts under the former Democratic 
Progressive Party government of ex-president Chen Shui-bian mostly 
as a drive for 'formal independence' that could 'provoke' Beijing, 
NOMINATION 
 
which Bush administration relied upon for cooperation in its 'war 
against terror.'  Hence, senior U.S. officials issued scarcely 
veiled hints of favoring the DPP's replacement by the right-wing 
Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) government under President Ma 
Ying-jeou, whose assumption of power in May has been followed by a 
rapid liberalization of cross-strait exchanges. 
 
"However, Ma's unilateral concessions on Taiwan's status and his 
government's overt tilt toward Beijing are now beginning to worry 
some U.S. security and intelligence strategists, while the 
snowballing signs of rollbacks in Taiwan's civic, judicial and other 
human rights under the one-party dominant KMT regime have sparked 
intense concern from U.S. based human rights organization. Obama's 
new Democratic administration will inevitably introduce a markedly 
different atmosphere from the neo-conservative Bush era and merits a 
reassessment by Ma of his KMT government strategic positioning and 
future policy directions. ...  Ma needs to show in actions and not 
simply words whether his government will preserve Taiwan's existing 
democratic independence or regress toward authoritarianism under a 
Chinese umbrella. If the KMT regime refuses to protect our 
democracy, the Taiwan people will save it themselves." 
 
¶4. Hillary Clinton's Nomination 
 
"Secretary of State Clinton Is 'Right Person at Right Time'" 
 
The conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post" 
[circulation: 30,000] editorialized (1/17): 
 
"It may sound like an effusive praise, but Senator Chuck Schumer's 
description of fellow colleague Hillary Rodham Clinton, 
president-elect Barack Obama's nominee for U.S. Secretary of State, 
as the 'right person at the right time' was not over the top. ... 
Mrs. Clinton, who will be 62 in October, proved that she deserved 
every word of the accolade. In her statement before the panel, she 
delivered a comprehensive and impressive account of the challenges 
facing the world and her ways to deal with them.  She promised a 
return to a foreign policy 'based on principles and pragmatism, not 
rigid ideology; on facts and evidence, not emotion and prejudice.' 
 
"After eight years of George Bush's unilateralism that has alienated 
America's allies and emboldened its enemies, Mrs. Clinton's words 
were refreshing and encouraging.  Mrs. Clinton, a Yale-educated 
lawyer and tenacious political fighter, showed her mastery of most 
foreign issues, from Gaza to climate change, from nonproliferation 
to China's rise.  Also, she forswore 'petty turf wars,' a reference 
to the power struggle inside Foggy Bottom.  Yes, the job is cut out 
for her. This famous 'work horse' will put her energy and talents to 
good use, trying to bring peace to the killing fields in the Middle 
East, defuse the nuclear crisis in Iran and North Korea, and 
eradicate poverty and diseases.  She is a born diplomat and Obama 
demonstrated tremendous foresight in giving her the all-important 
position despite their long, bloody fight during the campaign." 
 
YOUNG