VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #0159/01 0440647
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 130647Z FEB 09
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0895
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 8919
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0368

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000159 
 
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.-CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS 
 
Summary:  Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused February 
13 news coverage on Taiwan's sagging economy, on the collision of 
U.S. and Russian satellites Tuesday, and on the KMT's handling of 
its party assets.  In terms of editorials and commentaries, a column 
in the centrist, KMT-leaning "China Times" discussed U.S. Secretary 
of State Hillary Clinton's upcoming visit to China and said Clinton 
will certainly be disappointed if she expects Beijing's cooperation 
on the various issues that will be discussed between the two 
nations.  An editorial in the pro-independence, English-language 
"Taipei Times" cited AIT Director Stephen Young's recent remarks and 
discussed Taiwan's efforts to seek to be included in the United 
States' visa waiver program together with AIT's call for Taiwan to 
open its market to U.S. beef exports.  The article linked these two 
issues and said Taiwan "should take the opportunity to turn the 
tables on the U.S. and offer to open our market to U.S. beef in 
return for inclusion in the visa waiver program."   End summary. 
 
A) "Is Hillary Clinton's China Policy Smart Enough?" 
 
The "International Lookout" column in the centrist, KMT-leaning 
"China Times" [circulation: 150,000] wrote (2/13): 
 
"It appears that the U.S. State Department has been quite rusty in 
[dealing]... with China.  It was [former] Treasury Secretary Henry 
Paulson, not [former] Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, under the 
Bush administration who had close relations with Beijing.  What one 
saw was that both Beijing and Washington were just holding ongoing 
dialogue on economic issues and simply put other issues aside.  That 
explains why the newly sworn-in Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 
said [recently] that Sino-U.S. relations are not just about 
economics.  Clinton intends to expand [the range of] issues [to be 
discussed] between the United States and China, and it is believed 
that she wants to hold the authority to dictate [U.S.] China policy 
in her hands.  But is this a smart move?  Clinton said herself that 
she wants to demonstrate 'smart diplomacy,' but if she really puts 
all those important issues -- climate change, energy use, human 
rights, etc. - together as Washington claimed it will do, she will 
definitely return home crestfallen. ... 
 
"Beijing has never had a favorable impression of Hillary Clinton. 
Beijing finds it hard to forget the unfriendly remarks she made when 
she attended the UN World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 in 
her capacity as First Lady; it also remembers clearly that she once 
called on [former] President George W. Bush not to attend the 
opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.  As a 
result, both the [Chinese] government and its public opinion hold a 
cautious and reserved attitude toward Clinton's appointment and her 
visit to China.  Clinton will surely be disappointed if what she 
meant by 'broader cooperation' was 'getting a yes answer' on all the 
issues desired by the United States, particularly when Washington 
has to look to Beijing for assistance in its economy now." 
 
B) "What's the Beef with U.S. Visas?" 
 
The pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times" [circulation: 
30,000] editorialized (2/13): 
 
"... Taipei has been pushing hard for many years for inclusion in 
the US program and, as has been noted time and again, Taiwan meets 
all the criteria, including a low rate of visa rejection of around 3 
percent - the threshold for qualification is less than 10 percent. 
Indeed, the recent implementation of e-passports means Taiwan is 
more than qualified to be part of the US program, yet Washington 
refuses to budge on the issue.  The US State Department's Web site 
says that even if a nation meets all the criteria, 'designation as a 
[visa waiver program] country is at the discretion of the US 
government.'  Like the US' refusal to discuss a free trade agreement 
with Taiwan, Washington's continued rejection of Taipei's advances 
on the visa issue has led some to speculate that China is the 
problem. However, the fact that the UK and many other countries that 
have close relations with Beijing, such as Japan, grant Taiwanese 
landing visas would suggest that this isn't the case. 
 
"So what exactly is Washington's beef?  Maybe Taiwan's refusal to 
fully reopen its markets to imports of US beef is the source of the 
problem, as it is obviously a big bone of contention for many in the 
US. This was evident once again this week when the Taiwanese 
government found itself under pressure from American Institute in 
Taiwan Director Stephen Young, as well as the president of the 
influential American Enterprise Institute think tank.  The Ministry 
of Foreign Affairs has said that the US has suspended talks on all 
Taiwan-US trade issues until the beef dilemma is resolved. If that 
is the case, then instead of procrastinating any longer, the 
ministry and the government should take the opportunity to turn the 
tables on the US and offer to open our market to US beef in return 
for inclusion in the visa waiver program. This is the kind of 
language Washington understands and would certainly create a 
'win-win' situation - to use the popular phrase. 
 
"Young, as the US' main messenger on this issue, has repeatedly 
stated that Taiwan should make a 'science-based' decision regarding 
imports of US beef. Well, it is time for the US to make a 
'fact-based' decision on allowing Taiwanese into the US.  If the UK 
government believes Taipei is trustworthy enough to tackle the 
problem of Chinese using forged Taiwanese documents to illegally 
enter its territory, then there is no reason why the US can't do the 
same.  It is time to call Washington's bluff on this long-delayed 
issue." 
 
YOUNG