Cablegate: Media Reaction: Deputy Assistant Secretary Of

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TAIPEI 003006

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/RSP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD -
ROBERT PALLADINO
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF
STATE RANDY SCHRIVER'S TAIWAN VISIT, NORTH KOREA, U.S.-
CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS

1. Summary: Almost all the major Chinese-language
Taipei dailies reported July 13 on President Chen Shui-
bian's meeting with visiting former U.S. Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State Randy Schriver and his
awarding Schriver a medal for his contribution to U.S.-
Taiwan relations. The pro-independence "Liberty
Times,' Taiwan's biggest daily, ran a banner headline
on page three that read: "President Chen: China fever
will come down real soon." The sub-headline added:
"[Chen] emphasized when meeting with Randy Schriver
that China's various united front actions will only
make Taiwan more determined to walk down its own road.
[Chen said] the timing for Bian and [Chinese President]
Hu to meet will fall within the next two years." A
separate news story on the same page of the "Liberty
Times" was topped with the headline: "Randy Schriver:
Taiwan should demonstrate its determination to defend
itself." The pro-independence "Taiwan Daily" printed a
banner headline on its front page with the headline:
"Bian: Those who are favored by Beijing will find no
market in Taiwan." The centrist "China Times" also
carried a news story on an inside page that was topped
with a similar headline: "Bian: Those who are favored
by Beijing are not the mainstream in Taiwan."

2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, "Liberty
Times" journalist Su Yung-yao said in a news analysis
that Schriver's remarks indicate that the "One China"
policy cannot represent the entirety of U.S. policy
toward Taiwan, and that the United States is very
concerned about the rise of China. James Tu, president
of the mass-circulation "Apple Daily," commented on the
crisis on the Korean peninsula; he wrote that the
United States does not need to shoulder the North
Korean crisis all by itself. Soon enough, Tu wrote,
the Kim Jong Il regime will become a nightmare for
China and for international society. An editorial in
the limited-circulation, conservative, pro-unification,
English-language "China Post" commented on U.S.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's recent visit to

SIPDIS
Beijing. The editorial urged Washington not to send
the wrong signal to President Chen Shui-bian again.
End summary.

1. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Randy Schriver's
Taiwan Visit

"Have [Taiwan's] Opposition Parties Grasped the Meaning
of Randy Schriver's Remarks? [Randy] Made it Clear that
the One China Policy Cannot Represent the Whole of U.S.
Policy; [He] Also Expressed Concern for the Rise of
China"

Journalist Su Yung-yao wrote in a news analysis in the
pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 800,000]
(7/13):

". In some people's eyes, the United States' One China
policy seems to be an eternal and irrevocable
principle. But for [Deputy Assistant Secretary of
State] Randy Schriver, who used to be in charge of East
Asian affairs, he indicated very clearly that the One
China policy cannot represent the whole picture of
Washington's Taiwan policy. The major significance [of
the One China policy], [according to Schriver], is not
a geographical concept; on the contrary, it is based on
the needs for peace. Other parts, like the Six
Assurances that Washington has guaranteed [Taiwan] and
the Taiwan Relations Act, are also elements of U.S.
policy.

"What [Schriver's] remarks imply is [that it is] not
simply a matter of which element is more important; it
also involves a decision [that is made about] which
element should come first. If Washington only has the
One China policy, then it does not need to sell
defensive weapons to Taiwan, nor would it assist
Taiwan's participation in the international
organizations.

"All these small episodes that have truly represented
the substantive interaction between Taiwan and the
United States have exactly reflected Washington's
emerging strategic view toward the Asia Pacific region,
namely, its distrust and concern over the rise of
China. .

"Schriver believes that the instability caused by the
rise of China has in return generated an excellent
opportunity for Taiwan's development. He therefore
believes that the United States should show more
support to Taiwan to become a powerful `representative
[of democracy]' and should urge Taiwan to develop
[better] relations with its neighboring countries in
the Asia-Pacific region, such as Japan and Australia.
More importantly, [Schriver thinks] Taiwan should
quickly establish its self-defense capabilities. .

"Schriver has directly pointed out that the One China
policy cannot represent the whole of U.S. policy
[toward Taiwan]. Nonetheless, some political party
leaders in Taiwan still insist on advocating for One
China - a move to belittle the island - and they have
gone to Beijing to show their positions. Should any
imbalance occur across the Taiwan Strait, the disaster
surely [would] stem from [an element] inside Taiwan."

2. North Korea

"Let [North Korean Leader] Kim Jong Il Become
Everyone's Nightmare"

James Tu, President of the mass-circulation "Apple
Daily" [circulation: 500,000] commented (7/13):

". The United States should recognize that China's
policy toward North Korea is changing, and more and
more young Chinese officials have begun to view North
Korea as a burden or a threat. The more China needs an
environment for its peaceful development, the less it
will tolerate a bad neighbor [like Pyongyang] that is
unpredictable, wages war frequently, and could easily
drag it into the storms of war. Beijing cannot stop
giving aid and support to North Korea all of a sudden,
but it does not mean China has no plan to totally
transform the regime in Pyongyang.

"The United States does not need to shoulder the crisis
on the Korean peninsula all by itself. Kim Jong Il's
regime is not simply a nightmare for the United States
and Japan; it is, without doubt, a nightmare for South
Korea, and real soon, it will be a nightmare for China
and for the international community, too. When that
day comes, if interests on the Korean peninsula can be
distributed reasonably, it will not be so difficult or
cost such a high price to resolve the North Korean
issue."

3. U.S.-China-Taiwan Relations

"U.S. Must Avoid Sending Wrong Signals to Chen"

The conservative, pro-unification, English-language
"China Post" [circulation: 30,000] editorialized
(7/13):

"When U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice once
again urged Beijing to `extend contacts with the
elected government of Taiwan' during her visit to the
capital of mainland China over the weekend, it pointed
to an obvious need for Washington to update its
knowledge on current cross-strait interaction. .

"First, it gives the impression that it has been
illegitimate for the two opposition parties to
negotiate with Beijing for the opening of its markets
to Taiwan, as have been the case, because they do not
have a popular mandate. But the fact is that the KMT
and the PFP together hold a majority of seats in the
Legislature. .

"Washington's continued stress on the need for Beijing
to deal with the elected government of Taiwan without
bothering to examine why the current round of cross-
strait dialogue has failed to extend to the official
level could easily lead many people here and abroad to
believe that the opposition parties are being exploited
by the PRC government as a united front tool to isolate
Chen [Shui-bian] and his government. .

"In fact, anyone who has observed the recent string of
remarks and moves made by Chen will find that the
leader is showing hardly any interest in seeking to
open dialogue with Beijing. .

"By ignoring such provocative remarks and continuing to
attack Beijing for seeking to isolate Chen in cross-
strait relations, Washington is again sending wrong
signals to him as in 2003 when Chen pitched a new
constitution and a defensive referendum in his campaign
for re-election. .

"The U.S. government must avoid repeating those
mistakes now that Chen is again trying to adopt an anti-
China posture ahead of the competitive year-end
elections of city and county governments."

KEEGAN

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