VZCZCXYZ0004
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #0082 0200945
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 200945Z JAN 10
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3153
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 9634
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 1018

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000082 
 
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: FIRST YEAR OF PRESIDENT OBAMA, HAITI 
 
¶1. Summary:  Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies gave extensive 
coverage January 20 to the resignation of Prosecutor-General Chen 
Tsung-ming, which came shortly after a Control Yuan motion to 
impeach him for dereliction of duty and lack of integrity.  News 
coverage also focused on the year-end five city and county 
magistrate elections and on developments in cross-Strait relations. 
 
 
¶2.  In terms of editorials and commentaries, an op-ed in the 
pro-unification "United Daily News" discussed President Barack 
Obama's first year in office, saying that "Obamaism" is taking shape 
and will become the guiding principle for the United States' foreign 
relations in the next few years.  A column in the KMT-leaning "China 
Times" discussed the U.S. role in Haiti and said it looks like the 
U.S. military is going to stay in Haiti for a long time now.  End 
summary. 
 
¶3. First Year of President Obama 
 
"Justice and Peace: New Vision of Obamaism" 
 
Yen Chen-shen, research fellow at National Chengchi University's 
Institute of International Relations, opined in the pro-unification 
"United Daily News" [circulation: 400,000] (1/20): 
 
"It has been a year since President Barack Obama took over the helm. 
Since he assumed office, he has been busy traveling around the world 
and has delivered many speeches that revealed [his] strong 
diplomatic style and were regarded as a modification of the 
unilateralism upheld by [former] President George W. Bush.  [What 
Obama did] has greatly altered the United States' international 
image.  Now we can roughly discern the Obamaism taking shape, which 
will become the guiding principle for U.S. foreign relations in the 
next few years. ... 
 
"Obamaism has gradually taken shape after Obama delivered a speech 
focusing on 'war of justice' and 'justice and peace' in Oslo when he 
received his Nobel Peace Prize award. ... When compared with several 
former [U.S.] presidents whose diplomatic lines centered on 
containing Communism or sending troops overseas, Obamaism, on top of 
[dealing with] wars, also touches on [the topic of] peace.  Also, 
the areas that Obamaism is applied to are no longer limited to the 
Middle East or Latin America, which Washington was traditionally 
concerned with; instead, it applies at a global level.  Thus it is a 
more balanced and broader diplomatic line." 
 
¶4. Haiti 
 
"Has the United States Taken over Control of Haiti?" 
 
The "International Lookout" column in the KMT-leaning "China Times" 
[circulation: 120,000] wrote (1/20): 
 
"... Within twelve hours after the devastating earthquake that hit 
Haiti, the U.S. air force had sent in three giant transport planes 
bringing a total of 115 rapid reaction soldiers to forcibly land on 
the airport in Port-au-Prince.  [The U.S. air force] immediately 
stepped in to take over control [of the airport], executing air 
control on behalf of the Haitians, and making it a top priority to 
ensure [the safety of] the takeoff and landing of U.S. military 
aircraft.  As of now there are already 4,200 American soldiers 
stationed in Haiti, and an additional 6,300 soldiers will soon 
arrive in the country.  This indicates that the United States has 
control over the external communications of Haiti.  Foreign 
passengers who are anxious to leave Haiti said: 'They [i.e. the 
United States] only care about evacuating the Americans and no 
others.  The Americans have absolute power [in Haiti]; they take 
control over us and would not let us return to our countries.' ... 
 
"The U.S. soldiers in Haiti are about to exceed 10,000.  Is that 
really necessary for a rescue mission?  The supplies for these 
10,000 people can help keep hundreds of thousands of Haitian 
refugees alive.  Surely the U.S. military is not occupying the 
country by force, because the U.S. government has signed an 
agreement with the president of Haiti, who granted permission for 
U.S. soldiers to enter his country.  Even the U.S. media believe 
that the rescue operations have a strong smell of gunpowder. ... 
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said when meeting with 
Haitian President Rene Preval: 'We are here at your invitation, and 
we will be here today, tomorrow and in the future.'  It looks like 
the U.S. military will stay in Haiti for a long time.  Fortunately, 
85 percent of high-ranking Haitian officials have gone missing after 
the earthquake, and it is all right for the United States to take 
over control [of Haiti] now." 
 
STANTON