Cablegate: Media Reaction: First Year of President Obama, Haiti

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

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