Cablegate: Media Reaction: Wto and East Asia Summit, U.S.-

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 004872

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: WTO AND EAST ASIA SUMMIT, U.S.-
CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS

1. Summary: Major Chinese-language Taiwan dailies focused
their coverage December 13 on local political issues such as
Vice President Annette Lu's unexpected announcement Monday
evening that she was resigning as acting DPP chairperson
(after just five days in the position); and a meeting
between KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou and PFP Chairman James
Soong that ended with them announcing that they had agreed
that each party will boost its cooperation with the other
before the two formally merge. Almost all newspapers
reported in their inside pages about Monday's AIT news
briefing in which AIT Agricultural Affairs Section Chief
Scott S. Sindelar said AIT is disappointed that Taiwan has
not yet resumed U.S. beef imports.

2. Most Taiwan dailies gave limited space to coverage of
the WTO Ministerial meeting in Hong Kong (December 13-18)
and the East Asia Summit to be held in Kuala Lumpur
(December 14). In terms of editorials and commentaries,
Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Lai Hsin-yuan commented
on the significance of these two international meetings in
an opinion piece published in the centrist, pro-status quo
"China Times"; according to Lai, the events "unveil a
clearer and clearer fact": namely, U.S. influence has
declined. An editorial in the limited-circulation,
conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post"
claimed that Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick's
stated hope that China would become a "responsible
stakeholder" is "potentially the most far-reaching
redefinition of U.S. policy toward China for years to come."
End summary.

1. WTO and East Asia Summit

"When the WTO [Meeting] Coincides with East Asia Summit"

Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Lai Hsin-yuan commented
in an opinion piece in the centrist, pro-status quo "China
Times" [circulation: 400,000] (12/13):

"The World Trade Organization's (WTO) sixth ministerial-
level meeting will be held in Hong Kong from December 13-18.
In the meantime, the first-ever `East Asia Summit' will kick
off in Kuala Lumpur starting December 14. The coincidence
of these two major meetings silently proclaims the future
development [of the] direction of the world economic and
trading system, which thus deserves our close attention. .

"In contrast to the uncertain future of the WTO, the `East
Asia Summit' has created an upbeat and exciting vision since
its very start. Such a contrast does in fact unveil a
clearer and clearer fact: namely, U.S. influence has
declined. .

"Over the past five years, it has become a prevailing trend
for countries to sign regional trade agreements (RTA) and
[bilateral] free trade agreements (FTA) with other
countries. The trend of signing multilateral or bilateral
trade agreements has led to a situation in which strong
powers strive for supremacy and has thus utterly changed the
originally unilateral world dominated solely by the United
States. The first-ever `East Asia Summit' can best
demonstrate such a development. The ASEAN nations
deliberately excluded the United States from participating
in the summit this time. The movement to get rid of U.S.
[influence], or even, the [fostering of] anti-U.S.
sentiment, has loomed over Asia . following the tracks of
the Middle East and Latin America. .

". Taiwan, as a member of Asia, will likely be even more
isolated once Asia determines to move in the direction of
RTAs, as symbolized by the East Asia Summit. In the face of
the new global economic order [that is forming] in the wake
of declining U.S. influence, Taiwan must embrace a more and
more flexible way of thinking and an open-minded vision; it
should no longer look upon the United States as the
[world's] sole leader but should be sensitive enough to
accommodate the re-organizational activities going on in
every region so as to develop broader and more diversified
economic relations within the changing world order."

2. U.S.-China-Taiwan Relations

"U.S., China as Stakeholders"

The conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China
Post" [circulation: 30,000] editorialized (12/13):

"A new world of `stakeholders' is taking shape, with the
U.S. retaining its leadership and China a hesitant
collaborator. Championed by Deputy Secretary of State
Robert Zoellick, who is officially described as Secretary
Condoleezza Rice's `principal deputy, adviser and alter
ego,' it is potentially the most far-reaching redefinition
of U.S. policy towards China for years to come. .

"There is a growing understanding that the future is
unlikely to be dominated by the West in the manner of the
past two centuries. And today, the most important region in
the world is East Asia, where the future will be played out,
despite recent tensions between China, South Korea and Japan
over history. In this new world, Taiwan remains a stake but
a diminished one. Washington has reaffirmed its commitment
to the one-China policy, the three communiqus and the
Taiwan Relations Act, while Beijing has enacted an anti-
secession law to balance the U.S. law and safeguard its
territorial integrity, with tacit U.S. understanding.

"Both have vowed to maintain the status quo: Taiwan is part
of China, before peaceful reunification, its current status,
as the diplomatically isolated Republic of China, cannot be
changed; Taiwan independence is war. This new arrangement
has thus freed the two powers from the highly emotional
Taiwan problem, making it possible for them to collaborate
on other issues of mutual interests. The U.S. will help
China rise and China will help the U.S. lead.

"President Bush recently praised Taiwan for having "created
a free and democratic `Chinese society.' Independence
advocates would have preferred him to use `Taiwanese' rather
than `Chinese' in that context. But that was exactly
Washington's message to Taipei and Beijing."

PAAL

© Scoop Media