Cablegate: Aftermath of Thai Labor Riots: Political

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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 003793

SIPDIS

DEPT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON

DEPT FOR EAP/RSP/TC, INR/EAP

FROM AIT KAOHSIUNG BRANCH OFFICE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON TW
SUBJECT: Aftermath of Thai Labor Riots: Political
Maneuvering

Ref: Taipei 03525

1. Summary. In the aftermath of the labor riots involving
Thai workers on Kaohsiung City's Mass Rapid Transit (KMRT)
system (reftel), the response to the riots has been mostly
political, with the DPP generally seeking to get the issue
behind them. The KMT on the other hand is gradually
ratcheting up its criticism of the DPP government's
management of the situation. Local Kaohsiung politicians
are busy repositioning themselves and polishing their images
to prepare for the run at the 2006 mayoral slot in Kaohsiung
City. End Summary.

----------------------
The Political Response from Taipei
----------------------

2. (U) In public statements concerning the riots, Premier
Hsieh (who was Mayor of Kaohsiung at the time the KMRT
project commenced) has tried to deflect blame from City and
County officials, pointing out that the project is a build-
operate-transfer (BOT) project and thus Kaohsiung City
Government's role is limited to providing specifications for
the construction and deadlines for the completion.
According to Hsieh, all management activities are the
responsibility of the successful bidder-- KRTC and its sub-
contractors. Premier Hsieh has emphasized the potential
criminal liability of the Thai laborers, but has been less
vocal about investigating any of the alleged corrupt labor
practices or government oversight.

3. (U) Vice-President Lu, Hsiu Lien on the other hand, has
been both vocal and active in her support of the laborers,
whom she sees as the aggrieved parties in the case. She has
formed a blue ribbon panel to investigate the incident and
has assembled a team of sixteen lawyers to provide pro-bono
legal support to the laborers in the event that they face
charges. Lu personally visited the site of the riots and
spoke to both Thai officials and Thai laborers.

4. (U) Despite the fact that Premier Hsieh was the Mayor of
Kaohsiung at the time the contracts were awarded, the
opposition KMT and PFP have directed most of their criticism
toward Acting Kaohsiung Mayor, Chen Chi-mai, his father,
Chen Che Nan, a Presidential Advisor, and Chen Chu, the head
of the Central Government Council of Labor Affairs (CLA).
The criticism of Chen Chi-mai is largely tangential and is
based on allegations that his father was involved in corrupt
labor practices in the initial contract with Hua Pan. Chen
Chu has been criticized for failing to insure proper
oversight of the hiring and working conditions for foreign
labor.

5. (U) Both Chen Chi-mai and Chen Chu are expected to
compete for the DPP's nomination to run for Mayor of
Kaohsiung in the 2006 mayoral election. In the aftermath of
the KMRT Thai Labor incident, Chen Chu has just stepped down
as the head of the CLA, nominally to take responsibility for
the current mess. However, press reports speculate that she
may simply want to distance herself from the case as quickly
as possible in order to maintain political viability in the
upcoming Kaohsiung mayoral election.

6. Yeh Chu-lan, a prominent DPP leader and former vice
premier, has been appointed to succeed Chen Chi-mai as
Acting Mayor of Kaohsiung.

----------------------
The Political Response from Kaohsiung
----------------------

7. (U) Kaohsiung Acting Mayor Chen Chi-mai submitted his
earliest written resignation to Premier Hsieh on Aug. 30,
2005. His stated purpose was to take political
responsibility for the conditions that led to the Thai labor
riot in Kaohsiung. Chen's last day in office was
characterized by an AIT/K contact in the Kaohsiung City
Government as one in which the mayor's assistants were busy
packing as "they are now out of a job". However, Chen's
staff spun the story as a positive one, saying that because
Chen still is young (40 years old), his resignation
emphasizes his social reliability and his image and he still
intends a future political career.

8. (SBU) The DPP Kaohsiung City Chairman Chao Wen-nan told
AIT/K that Chen Chi-mai's resignation was actually an action
mirroring Chen Chu's resignation. Chen Chu, Chairperson of
Taiwan's CLA, resigned to take responsibility for the riot.
By resigning now, Acting Mayor Chen intends to show people
that he as responsible a local administrator as Chen Chu is
an island-wide administrator.
9. (U) Press reports today continue to watch the dominos
fall as Chen Chi-mai's appointees, such as Vice Mayor Zhen
Wenlong and Kaohsiung Information Office Director Wang Shi-
si, also resigned from their positions. The City Council is
postponing meetings until a new "acting" administration is
in place.

--------
DPP Damage Control
--------

10. (SBU) Comment. There is little political benefit to the
DPP in carrying out a thorough investigation of the
allegedly corrupt labor practices, since the entire KMRT
project has been carried out by DPP administrations, both at
the local and national level. The premier, in his public
remarks, has consistently focused on the laborers and the
private companies, KRTC and Hua Pan Management. Despite the
fact that many public allegations have been made about the
involvement of DPP heavyweights in corrupt practices leading
to the awarding of the contracts to KRTC and Hua Pan, the
Premier has placed little emphasis on this aspect of the
investigation. There is evident concern that the
investigation could adversely impact the DPP's prospects in
next year's Kaohsiung's mayoral election. Getting contacts
within the City and County governments to comment on the
case has been difficult. Contacts who normally are quite
forthcoming either refused initial requests for meetings, or
cancelled meetings that they had already agreed to hold.
The issue is very sensitive and it appears likely that the
City Administration continues to be very concerned about
potential fallout. While it will take a few days to sort
out the implications of the appointment of DPP heavyweight
Yeh Chu-lan as Acting Mayor, the move suggests the DPP is
trying to demonstrate the importance it places on the
position of Kaohsiung mayor and on maintaining its
fundamental support base in Kaohsiung.

11. (U) "All politics are local" is the adage in play in
this series of resignations as politicians begin reposition
themselves for future campaigns. Chen Chi-mai's resignation
now puts him on equal footing Chen Chu, another potential
2006 mayoral candidate. These two resignations appear to be
not the end of two careers in government, but the beginning
of the struggle between the two Chens for the slot of DPP
candidate for the upcoming mayoral election.

12. (U) It is likely that the opposition focus on Chen Chi-
mai and Chen Chu also relates to next year's Kaohsiung
Mayoral election. Unlike most other constituencies in the
South, Kaohsiung City is fairly evenly split between the
Blue and Green factions. The last election, won by Hsieh,
Chang Ting, was a very close contest. If both leading DPP
contenders are made vulnerable by the riots and ensuing
investigations, the KMT will stand a fair chance of retaking
Kaohsiung City and breaking the DPP's stranglehold on the
South.

13. (U) AIT will continue to follow and report on the case
as it develops. End Comment.

Thiele

Keegan

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