Cablegate: Media Reaction: Six-Party Talks, U.S. Arms
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 004529
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - ERIC
BARBORIAK
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: SIX-PARTY TALKS, U.S. ARMS
PROCUREMENTS, U.S.-CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS
1. Summary: Major Chinese-language Taipei dailies centered
their reporting November 9 on the Government Information
Office's announcement Tuesday that it would fine TVBS, a
local cable TV station, NT$1 million dollars for its illegal
ownership structure that has violated the Satellite
Broadcast Law. Coverage also focused on other local
scandals and the Presidential Office's announcement
appointing former Vice Premier Lin Hsin-i as Taiwan's envoy
for the upcoming APEC summit. The pro-independence "Taiwan
Daily" is the only newspaper that reported on its front page
President Chen's remarks Tuesday reiterating the importance
of the U.S. arms procurements and said that Taiwan will
regret it in the future if the island does not invest in
national defense now. The centrist "China Times" quoted a
Hong Kong-based "South China Morning Post" report in its
inside pages as saying that a U.S.-China-Taiwan closed-door
meeting will resume November 29 - 30 in New York.
2. Several Taipei newspapers editorialized on the death
threats against Premier Frank Hsieh. The "International
Lookout" column of the "China Times" discussed the fifth
round of the Six-Party talks, which will kick off November
9. The article said this round of talks will hardly achieve
anything as Washington and Pyongyang continue to hold
opposite views toward North Korea's nuclear program. An
editorial in the limited-circulation, pro-independence,
English-language "Taiwan News" echoed President Chen's
remarks on the importance of the U.S. arms procurements,
saying Taiwan must fix its defense gaps to avoid future war
in the Taiwan Strait. Nat Bellocchi, former AIT Chairman
and now a special adviser to the "Liberty Times" group, said
in an opinion piece in the limited-circulation, pro-
independence, English-language "Taipei Times" that "for
Taiwan, danger lingers over the changes being made by China,
and potentially by changes the United States may make in the
future." End summary.
A)Six-Party Talks
"Six-Party Talks Continue to Move on Very Slowly"
The "International Lookout" column of the centrist, pro-
status quo "China Times" [circulation: 400,000] wrote
(11/9):
"The fifth round of the Six-Party talks will kick off today.
According to Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, this
round of talks will last for three days only and will be
resumed afterwards in December. What's the trick behind
this? .
"[T]he real reason is probably because the problems [of the
talks] remain unresolved. Pyongyang and Washington continue
to hold opposite views: North Korea wants to discuss the
issue of the light-water nuclear reactor first before
talking about dismantling its nuclear weapons program.
Washington, in contrast, prefers to see [North Korea's]
nuclear weapons capabilities being dismantled first before
both sides sit down and talk about the light-water nuclear
reactor. This gambling game leaves no room for compromise
or further negotiations and confrontations may happen
immediately when the talks begin. That's why all the
participating officials find it more acceptable to dissolve
the meeting earlier to get ready for the upcoming APEC
meeting in Pusan.
"[North Korea Leader] Kim Jong Il has been gaining more
confidence recently because two major forces are tilting
towards him. China promised to offer him more aid.
[Chinese President] Hu Jintao reportedly gave his words when
he visited Pyongyang the other day that Beijing will provide
financial aid worth of US$2 billion to Pyongyang by
installments. Seoul, on the other hand, plans to set up a
special company to provide aid to North Korea in areas
including telecommunications, energy and transportation
construction. The company, which will be a seemingly joint
venture by both the public and private sectors, is in
reality financed by the Seoul government, and is allowed to
provide aid to Pyongyang without having to be checked by its
congress.
"It seems that the "Six Party" will be divided into "two
factions." All the participants in the talks hope to see
the problems being resolved, but obviously the two sides:
China and South Korea on one side and the United States and
Japan on the other, are divided in terms of the means and
steps that should be adopted [to resolve the
confrontations]. Neither side wants to confront each other
in the public; thus, they will have to slow down and discuss
their disputes step by step. The talks will unlikely fall
apart, but they will hardly reach any conclusion, either."
B)U.S. Arms Procurements
"Taiwan Must Fix Defense Gaps to Avoid Future War"
The pro-independence, English-language "Taiwan News"
[circulation: 20,000] editorialized (11/9):
"The pan-blue opposition majority in the Legislative Yuan's
critical procedural committee boycotted for the 36th time
the proposed special law that would authorize the government
to purchase three advanced defensive weapons systems from
the United States. Moreover, conservative opposition
Kuomintang and People First Party legislators in the
national defense affairs committee Monday sliced all of the
preparatory funds allocated by the MND in its annual 2006
budget for the three procurements. .
"The weekly refusal of the KMT and People First Party
legislative delegations for well over a full year to allow
the special law to even be normally referred to the
Legislature's National Defense Committee has become an
international as well as domestic political joke. But the
joke is not a laughing matter for Taiwan's 23 million people
or a matter of amusement for our servicemen and women whose
lives are risked by the inadequate and even obsolete state
of our defensive equipment.
"The unfortunate fact is that the rapid rise in the military
clout of the People's Republic of China, its refusal to
abandon the use of force against Taiwan, its enactment in
March of a touted `anti-secession' law that authorizes
Beijing to use non-peaceful means against Taiwan if `hopes
for peaceful unification are exhausted' and the forward
deployment of missiles across the Taiwan Strait demonstrate
a genuine clear and present danger to our security. .
"Indeed, the key message is that all of us may be safer if
these procurements are approved mainly because they can
puncture hopes for a quick victory by PRC military forces
against Taiwan. While we agree that Taiwan's national
security or hopes for lasting peace in the Taiwan Strait
cannot rely only or even mainly on military means, we
believe that these procurements will act to reduce both the
political and substantive impact of saber or missile
rattling by Beijing and the chances of a shooting conflict
in the Taiwan Strait.
"The bottom line for Taiwan's 23 million citizens should
communicate to opposition parties is that we will be safer
with these new systems than we will without them."
C) U.S.-China-Taiwan Relations
"US Policy Stuck as China's Changes"
Nat Bellocchi, former AIT Chairman and now a special adviser
to the "Liberty Times" group, commented in an opinion piece
in the pro-independence, English-language "Taipei Times"
[circulation: 30,000] (11/9):
"One scenario many China watchers now see is that Beijing
has shifted policy regarding Taiwan, placing a priority on
preventing Taiwan's independence in the immediate future,
while continuing to insist on eventual unification. .
"China has also shifted its policy regarding the US by
establishing better relations with countries that surround
China (minus Japan), which will help strengthen Beijing's
hand to deal with the US or regional matters on an equal
basis. All of these regional nations likely already accept
the idea of not supporting Taiwan's independence. The next
step for China would be gain their support for unification.
"As for Beijing's relations with the US, China sees it as
necessary to play by the rules of globalization in order to
carry out its vital economic expansion and soften its
relationship with Washington, at least in the short term.
It needs to do that to establish its position in the region
and gain support for unification. .
"These changes in the policies and actions of China and
Taiwan have not influenced the US' policies toward either
one - yet. Washington's preoccupation with domestic and
other external issues has absorbed the attention of top
decision makers. That does not mean that other issues are
being ignored by the bureaucracy. More likely, decisions
are being postponed by senior officials who are preoccupied
with the crisis of the day, or awaiting policy personnel
that have not yet been chosen. .
"But for Taiwan, danger lingers over the changes being made
by China, and potentially by changes the US may make in the
future when decisions cannot be avoided. It remains unclear
what pressures will develop in the US-China relationship,
how well and in what direction Beijing will manage its
changing environment and whose consensus will prevail in
Taiwan. An important question though is are opportunities
for furthering Taiwan's future being lost in its internal
struggles?"
PAAL