VZCZCXRO1396
OO RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHIN #0417/01 0971018
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 071018Z APR 09
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1326
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHHMUNA/USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 000417 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL ETRD OVIP TW CH
SUBJECT: REPRESENTATIVES LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART AND MARIO 
DIAZ-BALART MEET WITH TAIWAN PRESIDENT MA YING-JEOU 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  Representatives Lincoln Diaz-Balart and 
Mario Diaz-Balart expressed support for the Taiwan Relations 
Act and for President Ma's strategy for improving 
cross-Strait relations during a cordial April 7 meeting.  Ma 
emphasized the continued need for U.S. security assistance, 
noting that Beijing has not matched its expressions of 
goodwill with concrete steps to reduce the threat from 
missiles aimed at Taiwan.  President Ma also outlined his top 
priorities in relations with the United States, including 
improvements in trade and investment environment, inclusion 
of Taiwan in the visa waiver program and the negotiation of a 
bilateral extradition agreement.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) U.S. Congressional support has been essential to 
Taiwan's security in the 30 years since the signing of the 
Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), President Ma Ying-jeou told 
visiting Representatives Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart during 
an April 7 meeting.  The United States is Taiwan's most 
important partner and the comprehensive relations provided 
for under the TRA allowed the island to develop economically 
and politically.  U.S. support is particularly important now, 
in an era of warming cross-Strait ties, Ma emphasized, 
because it allows Taiwan to engage China from a position of 
confidence.  Thanking Ma for the warm reception his 
delegation received, Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart reiterated the 
support of the entire 128-member House Taiwan Caucus for the 
TRA as the cornerstone of U.S.-Taiwan relations.  The Caucus, 
Diaz-Balart emphasized, will work to ensure that the new U.S. 
administration maintains these friendly relations. 
 
¶3. (SBU) U.S. military support continues to be essential to 
Taiwan's security, Ma said.  The President expressed 
appreciation for then-President Bush's decision in October 
2008 to move forward with the sale of weapons systems that 
will hel address the growing cross-Strait military 
imbalance.  However, he noted, Taiwan will continue to need 
to buy additional defense equipment.  Despite his 
government's efforts to improve relations with China, Ma 
noted, the PRC still has more than one thousand missiles 
targeting the island.  Beijing needs to remove these missiles 
before Taiwan will consider PRC President Hu Jintao's call 
for military confidence building measures, he stressed.  The 
only long-term solution, Ma suggested, is to use "soft power" 
to transform China's system and transform the political 
landscape.  Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart expressed understanding 
and support for Ma's views and assured him that Taiwan can 
continue to count on U.S. security assistance and on the 
friendship of the U.S. Congress. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Despite the military threat, Ma said, it is in 
Taiwan's interest to pursue better relations with the PRC. 
Economically, he noted, the two neighbors are already closely 
linked, with Taiwan enjoying a significant trade surplus. 
While the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) 
criticizes him for wanting to improve cross-Strait economic 
links, these ties had actually deepened rapidly under the 
previous DPP administration.  Now, Ma said, he hoped to 
continue and institutionalize this trend by reaching an 
agreement similar to a free trade agreement with China. 
Discussions of such an agreement may begin as early as this 
May, Ma said, and would likely focus on establishing a 
general framework as well as targets for achieving an "early 
harvest" in areas where there is already general consensus 
for more rapid progress.  This would not only help Taiwan 
investors and businessmen, but also would make it easier for 
Taiwan to conclude trade deals with other countries in the 
region.  Many of Taiwan's neighbors, Ma explained, are 
unwilling to sign FTAs with Taiwan before China does so. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Taiwan also hopes to conclude an FTA with the United 
States at some point, Ma said, but understands that there are 
significant obstacles to this in the short-term, not least of 
which is the administration's lack of Trade Promotion 
Authority (TPA).  Instead, Taiwan hopes to use a 
building-block approach, making progress on those elements of 
an FTA that are achievable, such as a bilateral investment 
agreement and a dual-taxation pact.  Lincoln Diaz-Balart 
confirmed that the U.S. administration's TPA had lapsed, but 
said he is working with other members of the Taiwan Caucus on 
"creative ways" to advance the bilateral trade relationship 
and promote Taiwan's economic security.  Once these ideas are 
ready, the Caucus will share them with Taiwan's 
representatives in Washington, Diaz-Balart said.  Ma noted 
U.S. concerns about access to Taiwan's market for all U.S. 
beef products, and said he hoped to resolve the issue soon. 
 
TAIPEI 00000417  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Giving Taiwan access to the U.S. Visa Waiver program 
would deepen the already-close people-to-people ties between 
Taiwan and the United States, Ma said.  "We know there are 
things we must work on ourselves," he said, noting 
specifically the need to fix flaws in Taiwan's passport 
issuance procedures.  Taiwan is addressing these concerns and 
we hope that we can be considered for the program as soon as 
these issues are worked out, the President stressed.  The 
United States stands to reap significant economic benefits, 
Ma reminded the Congressmen, since Taiwan tourists are "big 
shoppers."  Congress knows where Taiwan is in terms of 
qualifying for the visa waiver program, Diaz-Balart assured 
Ma, and is prepared to help when appropriate. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Finally, Ma said, Taiwan hopes to conclude an 
extradition agreement with the United States as soon as 
possible.  Taiwan and U.S. law enforcement officials already 
work closely together, he noted, citing recent cases of 
cooperation between Taiwan and DEA, USSS, and other federal 
and state authorities.  Unfortunately, he said, the lack of 
an extradition agreement meant that a number of Taiwan's 
"most wanted" criminals are at large in the United States. 
Diaz-Balart thanked Ma for the assistance in combating 
transnational crime. 
 
¶8. (U) The U.S. delegation included Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, 
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, the Director, Lincoln Diaz-Balart 
Chief of Staff Ana Carbonell, Mario Diaz-Balart Chief of 
Staff Nilda Pedrosa, Lincoln Diaz-Balart Senior Legislative 
Assistant Autumn Morley, Mario Diaz-Balart Senior Legislative 
Assistant Miguel Mendoza and AIT Pol Chief.  Ma was 
accompanied by National Security Advisor Su Chi, VFM David 
Lin, MOFA North American Affairs Division DG Harry Tseng, 
MOFA North American Affairs Division Director Douglas Hsu and 
MOFA North American Affairs Division officer Johnson Chiang. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Reps. Diaz-Balart did not have an opportunity to 
clear this message. 
YOUNG