VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #0961/01 2220949
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 100949Z AUG 09
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2081
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 9325
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0759

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000961 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/P, EAP/PD - NIDA EMMONS 
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: NORTH KOREA, U.S.-TAIWAN RELATIONS 
 
¶1. Summary:  Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies gave extensive 
coverage August 7-10 to typhoon Morakot, which hit Taiwan Friday and 
Saturday, and the record-breaking torrential rains it brought has 
triggered the most devastating floods in southern Taiwan in the last 
fifty years.  In terms of editorials and commentaries, a column in 
the KMT-leaning "China Times" continued to discuss former U.S. 
President Bill Clinton's trip to Pyongyang last Tuesday and the two 
U.S. reporters freed from North Korea.  The column said both Japan 
and South Korea are afraid that Washington would bypass them and 
strike a secret deal with Pyongyang.  A separate "China Times" op-ed 
said the meeting between Clinton and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Il 
is a harbinger for direct and bilateral talks between Washington and 
Pyongyang.  With regard to U.S.-Taiwan relations, an editorial in 
the pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" said the 
opposition DPP should "bolster its presence" in the United States 
and should take the initiative to remind the Obama administration 
about "the strategic importance of Taiwan's democracy."  End 
summary. 
 
¶2. North Korea 
 
A) "Japan and [South] Korea Fear That the United States Would Bypass 
Them" 
 
The "International Lookout" column in the KMT-leaning "China Times" 
[circulation: 120,000] wrote (8/7): 
 
"[Former U.S. President Bill] Clinton paid a sudden visit to 
Pyongyang [last week], and South Korea and Japan are probably the 
ones that were most shocked [by Washington's move].  [They are 
probably wondering] if the United States will sell them out in terms 
of [Washington's] North Korea policy. ...  On public occasions, take 
the United Nations' sanctions [against North Korea] as an example, 
[U.S. President Barack] Obama [tends to] make remarks using 
high-flown words.  For Japan and [South] Korea, needless to say, 
they would use more bombastic words in order to act in concert [with 
Washington].  But who knows if there is any secret plan going on 
behind the scenes?  Neither Tokyo nor Seoul had any clue in advance 
before Clinton flew to Pyongyang.  It would be just fine if Clinton 
were there merely to rescue the two U.S. journalists.  But who would 
believe that Clinton's mission was just for that? 
 
"If Obama were playing a double-faced strategy by making some 
high-flown remarks on the one hand and seeking compromise [with 
 
Pyongyang] on the other, and if Clinton had reached some kind of an 
agreement with Kim Jong Il, or the two were planning to push forward 
some kind of an agreement, then it would be not only bypassing Japan 
and [South] Korea, but China and Russia would also have to stand off 
to the side.  China and Russia may not care that much, but for Japan 
and [South] Korea, which constantly speak out against and act in 
opposition to North Korea, they would find it hard to tolerate." 
 
B) "[Bill] Clinton Rescuing U.S. [Journalists]" 
 
Washington D.C.-based columnist Norman Fu wrote in his column in the 
KMT-leaning "China Times" [circulation: 120,000] (8/7): 
 
"... Superficially, [former U.S. President Bill] Clinton's trip was 
a private, humanitarian one aimed at rescuing the two journalists, 
so the White House has kept a very low-profile, even not saying a 
word about it.  But in reality, the U.S. government has been 
maneuvering behind the scenes via North Korea's representative to 
the United Nations.  The entire play had been written long in 
advance, and Clinton was just there to act according to the script. 
The real, biggest beneficiary is North Korea, because it has been 
asking to engage in bilateral talks with the United States for many 
years but has been rejected by Washington, which always insists on 
conducting the so-called Six-Party talks.  Now Clinton, in the 
capacity of a former [U.S.] president, has had a three-hour-long 
talk with Kim Jong Il; it seemed quite improbable that they just 
talked about the release of the two female journalists, and 
inevitably they would talk about bilateral relations, including 
Pyongyang's development of nuclear weapons.  As a result, the 
Clinton-Kim meeting is a harbinger for direct and bilateral dialogue 
between Washington and Pyongyang.  This may not be a development 
that Washington is happy to see but, unfortunately, the two female 
journalists have become the diplomatic bargaining chips that 
Pyongyang has used to blackmail Washington.  The United States, 
which attaches great importance to human rights and the lives of its 
people, had no choice but to pay such a price. ..." 
 
¶3. U.S.-Taiwan Relations 
 
"Obama Needs Reminder of Taiwan's Democracy" 
 
The pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News" [circulation: 
20,000] editorialized (8/10): 
 
"The opposition Democratic Progressive Party and other pro-democracy 
 
forces in Taiwan must take the initiative to remind the new 
Democratic administration of United States President Barack Hussein 
Obama of the strategic importance of Taiwan's democracy. ... Due 
largely to concerns that Washington was moving closer to Beijing at 
the expanse (sic) of Taiwan's interests for the sake of Bush's 
misguided 'war on terror,' Chen [Shui-bian] adopted moves to aimed 
to (sic) consolidate the democratic right of the Taiwan's 23 million 
people to decide their future, including a referendum on United 
Nation membership in March 2008.  Washington's lack of understanding 
for such moves contributed to a renewed divergence of U.S.-Taiwan 
relations and led to transparent moves by senior Bush administration 
officials to push Taiwan voters to make a 'regime change' in the 
March 2008 presidential poll. 
 
"In sum, while the concept of 'democracy' appeared to constitute the 
center of gravity in U.S.-Taiwan relations, the DPP's resolve to 
ensure the democratic right of the Taiwan people to decide their own 
future diverged from Bush's narrow definition of Taiwan's role of 
not obstructing Beijing's cooperation in his 'war on terror.' 
Regretfully, in its urgency to build constructive relations with 
Beijing, the Obama administration has not expressed any affirmation 
of Taiwan's democracy and has not manifested any concern over the 
regression of Taiwan's democracy under President Ma Ying-jeou's 
restored rightist KMT government. 
 
"Obsessed with uncritical lauding of the surface (sic) 'cross-strait 
reconciliation' between the KMT and CCP regimes, the Obama 
administration has failed to take serious note of grave violations 
of judicial and human rights in the prosecutions of former DPP 
officials, including the unjustifiable protracted detention of 
former president Chen, the KMT's transformation of autonomous state 
and public-owned news media into party mouthpieces and the absence 
of transparency or democratic monitoring in KMT-CCP negotiations. 
Moreover, Ma's refusal to criticize Beijing's violations of human 
rights in Tibet, Xinjiang and the PRC itself and his purge of the 
Taiwan Foundation for Democracy has signalled (sic) his intention to 
ensure that neither Taiwan democracy nor human rights violations in 
the PRC will get in the way of 'linking with China.' 
 
"Continued silence by the Obama government will contrast starkly 
with Bush's tongue-lashing of the former DPP administration for 
trying to consolidate Taiwan democracy and will write the Ma 
government a blank check to do (sic) 'roll back' Taiwan democracy as 
far as it wants.  At this critical juncture, Taiwan-centric 
political and social forces need to remind the U.S. and other 
democracies of the strategic importance of the survival of Taiwan's 
democracy. ...  The DPP in particular should bolster its presence in 
the U.S., re-energize its Congressional contacts and reach out to 
grassroots and civic organizations with public diplomacy to 
constantly remind American society of the uniqueness of Taiwan's 
democracy and its importance in the defense of democracy in the 
Asia-Pacific region. ... Such efforts are no less vital than 
domestic election work since 'linking with democracy' may now be the 
only path for Taiwan's people to prevent being subsumed into a 
'rising authoritarian China.'" 
 
WANG