Cablegate: Media Reaction: U.S.-China-Taiwan Relations

VZCZCXYZ0014
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #1296 2420748
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 290748Z AUG 08
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9863
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 8564
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0011

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001296

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - NIDA EMMONS
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS

Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused news
coverage August 29 on Yeh Sheng-mao, the former Director of the
Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau (MJIB), being indicted
for concealing information about former President Chen Shui-bian's
possible involvement in money laundering and the prosecutors' probe
into the Chen family's money flow in Taiwan and overseas. The
pro-independence "Liberty Times" continued alleging that AIT
Chairman Raymond Burghardt had indeed said the "two noes" to Taiwan.
The newspaper ran a banner headline on page two that reads
"Burghardt Mentioned the Two Noes; a Taiwan Official Stationed in
the U.S. Was in Attendance on that Occasion." The report cited its
sources, which said that the Taiwan official even made a record of
Burghardt's remarks. The sources reportedly were puzzled why the
Taiwan government denied that Burghardt had conveyed the "two noes"
to Taiwan. Reflecting on Burghardt's alleged remarks, the "Liberty
Times" also carried an editorial claimin that the United States and
Japan must be very worried about Taiwan's leaning toward China. The
editorial questioned and criticized how the Ma Ying-jeou
Administration could feel so nonchalant about such concerns. End
summary.

"Has the Ma Administration Heard the U.S. Concerns Regarding
Taiwan's Sovereignty?

The pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 720,000]
editorialized (8/29):

"... The Ma [Ying-jeou] Administration seems to be completely
careless about the United States and Japan's doubts. Whether and
the ease of regulations without limit in economics, or the
elimination [of Taiwan's] sovereignty in politics, [Ma] has made
Taiwan step into the quagmires that China has set. Therefore, [AIT
Chairman] Raymond Burghardt made the words clearer. He [Burghardt]
conveyed the United States' demands to the Ma Administration that
there should be no hint that China has sovereignty over Taiwan.
This undoubtedly is because the Ma Administration publicly
recognizes the non-existent 1992 consensus and claims that 'Taiwan
and the Mainland belong to one China.' [The Ma Administration]
regards Chinese Taipei as the best name [for Taiwan] to participate
in international organizations, which exactly put Taiwan's
sovereignty under the level of China. Such a flagrant 'hint' that
China has sovereignty is over Taiwan is equivalent to changing the
status quo across the Taiwan Strait unilaterally. The United States
definitely wanted to express its opposition.

"Second, the Ma Administration relies on China economically and is
willing to be China's dependency politically. The so-called
"diplomatic truce" delivers Taiwan's international space into
China's hands. It is equivalent to concretely fulfilling [the
claim] in the international community that China owns Taiwan's
sovereignty, which encounters the United States' opposition. Days
before, the Ma Administration, abandoning the bids for Taiwan to
enter the UN or the Republic of China to return the UN, instead
proposed that '23 million people's rights to have meaningful
participation in UN specialized agencies should be respected.' Such
a proposal, although [in it] not even the shadow of a sovereign
state can be detected, still encountered the opposition from China's
delegation at the UN. As a result, what Ma Administration's policy
of diplomatic truce got in return is that China wants more. Once
such a vicious precedent is established, Taiwan's participation in
the international community will have to be decided by China.
Taiwan will become part of China, which is totally unacceptable to
the United States. ...

"The United States or our people might be happy to see relations
between Taiwan and China improve, or even see relations between the
two countries [Taiwan and China] normalized. However, neither our
people nor the United States would ever agree to let such relations
'Sinicize Taiwan's sovereignty.' The Ma Administration's so-called
setting aside of controversies and [attempts at] diplomatic truces
only achieve the objective effect that Taiwan's sovereignty is set
aside and Taiwan's international space is delivered into China's
hands. If we continue walking on 'Ma's roadmap,' in less than four
year's time Taiwan will become a piece of meat in China's mouth.
There will be a dramatic change to the status quo across the Taiwan
Strait as well. Not only the United States but also the Taiwan
people have seen this [scenario] clearly and as a result have set
the theme of 'protecting [Taiwan's] sovereignty' as part of the
three themes of the anti-Ma rally scheduled for August 30. If the
Ma Administration does not rein in the horse at the edge of the
precipice and acts arbitrarily, then domestically and
internationally the Ma Administration will definitely become a rat
crossing the street which everyone wants to hit."

WANG

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