VZCZCXYZ0011
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #1449/01 3430931
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 090931Z DEC 09
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2898
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 9570
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0959

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001449 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/P, EAP/PD - THOMAS HAMM 
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS, PRESIDENT 
OBAMA'S ADDRESS ON AFGHANISTAN 
 
¶1. Summary:  Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused news 
coverage December 9 on the U.S. beef issue, which was stalled at the 
legislative sessions Tuesday due to a boycott by DPP legislators; on 
the aftermath of the December 5 city mayors' and county magistrates' 
elections around the island; and on the upcoming fourth round of 
talks between Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation and China's 
Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait, which will be 
held in Taichung.  In terms of editorials and commentaries, an op-ed 
in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" said the results of last 
Saturday's local elections in Taiwan sent a clear and powerful 
message to the Obama administration -- namely, the Taiwan people 
have used their votes to check and balance the arrogance and 
self-righteousness of their leader, and that the Obama 
administration should pay more respect to Taiwan's democracy.  A 
column in the KMT-leaning "China Times" discussed U.S. President 
Barack Obama's December 1 address on Afghanistan and concluded that 
Obama is following the course laid down by his predecessor and still 
wants to be the "head of the world's police."  End summary. 
 
¶2. U.S.-China-Taiwan Relations 
 
"The Message That Taiwan People Send to Obama" 
 
Liu Shih-chung, now a Visiting Fellow at the U.S.-based Brookings 
Institution, opined in the mass-circulation "Apple Daily" 
[circulation 520,000] (12/9): 
 
"Through the results of last Saturday's three-in-one local city 
mayors' and county magistrates' elections, a majority of the Taiwan 
voters have sent a clear and powerful message to U.S. President 
Barack Obama, who has just returned from a visit to China and signed 
a controversial joint statement with Chinese President Hu Jintao: 
Namely, Taiwan, being a small country, may be powerless and has no 
intention to obstruct the United States' determined policy direction 
to engage with the 'rising China.'  But the most powerful way for 
Taiwan to defend itself is to use its democratic votes to check and 
balance the arrogance and self-righteousness of its ruler, and to 
further influence the [government] policy balance and policy 
direction. 
 
"The most controversial part in the 'Obama-Hu' joint statement 
concerning Taiwan is that it stated in black and white that the two 
nations 'respect each other's sovereignty and territorial 
integrity,' and 'look forward to efforts by both sides [of the 
Taiwan Strait] to increase interactions in economic and political 
fields.'  The Ma Ying-jeou administration has a numb central nervous 
system and thus always feels good about itself, but the DPP and many 
of those who know the triangular relations among the United States, 
China and Taiwan well have all expressed grave concerns.  The Obama 
administration soon sent AIT Board [sic] Chairman Raymond Burghardt 
to Taiwan in an attempt to placate [the island] and clarify [the 
episode] by stressing that what was referred to in the 
afore-mentioned statement were Tibet and Xinjiang, not Taiwan.  Yet 
Beijing immediately reiterated to the international community that 
Taiwan is part of China's sovereignty and its territorial integrity. 
 Burghardt further explained that the United States has no intention 
to push both sides [of the Taiwan Strait] to engage in political 
dialogue.  Yet China, [on the other hand], has long since put 
pressure on, and mapped out the course for political talks, in terms 
of the Ma administration's cross-Strait policy thinking of 
'economics ahead of politics.' 
 
"Even though Burghardt was speaking on behalf of the U.S. 
government, his audience was mostly from Taiwan's ruling and 
opposition parties.  Many people in the international community 
would be easily misled by Beijing and believe that 'Washington 
agrees or accepts that Taiwan is part of China's sovereignty and 
territorial integrity.'  Unless higher-ranking U.S. officials, such 
as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or even Obama himself, 
reiterate the public declaration made by former President Bill 
Clinton in February 2000, that 'the future of both sides of the 
Taiwan Strait must be determined with the consent of the Taiwan 
people,' the pace for Washington to tilt toward Beijing will only 
accelerate. ... 
 
"[Saturday's] elections have also allowed the strategists of the 
Obama administration on Asia-Pacific policy, who have been feeling 
relaxed about the relatively stable cross-Strait relations now, to 
finally accept the fact that Ma can be defeated.  The Ma 
administration's means of constantly flattering the Obama 
administration via diplomatic channels have also gradually ceased to 
work, as shown by the fact that Taiwan's recent decision to re-open 
its market to U.S. beef has triggered anti-U.S. sentiments on some 
parts of the island.  The Americans were puzzled why U.S. beef could 
become a major issue in Taiwan's local elections.  Ma's failure to 
pass this 'mid-term examination' and the fact that the DPP has a 
better chance to stage a comeback earlier than expected have drawn 
closer attention of the U.S. strategists on Asia-Pacific policy as 
OBAMA'S ADDRESS ON AFGHANISTAN 
 
to whether Ma will adjust his cross-Strait policy in the future. 
 
"The Obama administration should understand that cross-Strait 
relations are not the only or major factor for Taiwan voters to 
determine the ability of their leaders.  Ma has invested many 
resources in opening and managing cross-Strait relations since he 
assumed office, and thereby allowed Washington, whose hands are 
already full, not to worry too much [about cross-Strait tensions]. 
But the Obama administration must never overlook the values of 
Taiwan's democracy or take the KMT's long-term governance or the 
relatively stable cross-Strait relations for granted.  The message 
sent out by [Saturday's] elections is crystal clear -- namely, only 
the [Taiwan] people are their masters; Obama should pay more respect 
to the universal values of democracy and let the 'Taiwan people use 
their votes to decide their future.'" 
 
¶3. President Obama's Address on Afghanistan 
 
"U.S. Foreign Policy -- Military Force as Its Vanguard" 
 
Columnist Lin Po-wen wrote in his column in the KMT-leaning "China 
Times" [circulation: 120,000] (12/9): 
 
"... It is quite disappointing that Obama did not dare to break 
tradition, and, like his predecessors, he still likes to be the 
'world's policeman' and show off [the United States'] might.  A 
phrase that previous U.S. presidents like best is 'the foreign 
policy propped up by military forces.'  As a matter of fact, since 
the Roosevelt administration at the beginning of the 20th century, 
the United States has moved toward a 'foreign policy using its 
military force as its vanguard' -- with carrot and stick together, 
it is akin to typical imperialism. ... 
 
"...The war in Afghanistan today has been labeled as 'Obama's war.' 
Obama adopted the strategy to 'exit after sending more troops [to 
the battlefield].'  But the question is:  Will [the United States] 
be able to withdraw its troops eighteen months from now?  How many 
soldiers will it pull back and how many will stay [in Afghanistan]? 
Will the undisciplined Afghan soldiers and policemen be able to 
replace the U.S. troops and those of its allies?  Many reasons 
caused the defeat of [the United States in] the Vietnam War, and one 
of them was the corruption and incompetence of the Saigon 
government. ... Now that the United States has run into a worse 
government of Karzai, how is it going to fight the war in 
Afghanistan?  Perhaps the ideas of 'permanent sense of crisis' and 
'using military force as its vanguard' have been pushing Obama to 
become the head of the 'world police.'" 
 
STANTON