INDEPENDENT NEWS

Cablegate: Media Reaction: U.S. Presidential Election

Published: Mon 27 Oct 2008 09:43 AM
VZCZCXYZ0009
RR RUEHWEB
DE RUEHIN #1517 3010943
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 270943Z OCT 08
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0189
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 8668
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0116
UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 001517
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. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Summary: Taiwan's major Chinese-language dailies focused October
25-27 news coverage on the DPP's mass rally in Taipei on Saturday to
protest the Ma Ying-jeou Administration's alleged tilt toward China;
on the upcoming visit to Taiwan by China's Association for Relations
across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin; and on the Taiwan
government's announcement that the daily trading limit on the local
stock market would revert to its normal 7 percent starting Monday to
boost the market's liquidity. In terms of editorials and
commentaries, a column in the pro-unification "United Daily News"
discussed the upcoming U.S. presidential election and the global
situation. The article said the world is looking forward to the
election of Barack Obama of the Democratic Party and the possible
changes he may bring to the world. End summary.
"The World Is Looking Forward to Changes"
Jou Yi-cheng, founder of the Third Society Party, wrote in the "Hall
of Fame" column in the pro-unification "United Daily News"
[circulation: 400,000] (10/27):
"... Despite the fact that some people may like it and some hate it,
the United States remains the overlord of the globe. Yet in the
eyes of a majority of the people in the world, the United States has
become a repugnant superpower in the last eight years. The Bush
Administration's unilateralist foreign policy, its launch of the war
in Iraq, [the United States'] withdrawal from the 'Kyoto Protocol'
governing greenhouse gas emissions, and President George W. Bush's
personal words, deeds and style -- all of these have stripped the
United States of its justification as a leader; all the more, they
have turned the country into another kind of 'rogue state.' ...
Barack Obama's election and the possible changes that he may bring
are thus something that the world is looking forward to. The
foreign policy of Democratic Obama will naturally be leaning toward
idealism/liberalism; it will emphasize cooperation, alliance,
negotiation and will attach great importance to human rights,
environmental protection and labor issues. Nevertheless, it will be
incorrect to assume that there will be big changes to the United
States' grand strategy once Obama is elected. Should Obama rise to
power, U.S. foreign policy will likely adopt a middle-of-the-road
approach, namely, a [combination of] the traditional realism school
and liberalism school -- some kind of middle-of-the-road line coming
together following the bitter lesson learned after the failure of
the Bush Administration's neo-conservatism line. ...
"For Taiwan, a U.S. leader who attaches great importance to values
such as democracy and human rights but who does not push American
values by using force, as Bush did, is certainly welcome. Given
that nowadays the chances are slim of containing China
strategically, Taiwan should form an alliance of values with the
Western democratic world, not an alliance of geopolitical strategy.
... With the United States' and Japan's full trust and cooperation,
Taiwan's efforts to improve relations with China and thereby
facilitate changes in China will meet the island's greatest
interests. ..."
YOUNG
View as: DESKTOP | MOBILE © Scoop Media