US embassy cable - 04TAIPEI3644

UNCLAS TAIPEI 003644 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/RSP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - 
ROBERT PALLADINO 
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC, KMDR, KPAO, TW, Foreign Policy 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-TAIWAN RELATIONS 
 
"President Chen's [Practice of] Informing the United 
States Before He Makes Announcements on Cross-Strait 
Policy Has Become Standard Practice" 
 
The conservative, pro-unification "United Daily News" 
editorialized (11/16): 
 
". Evidently, the consistent context as well as the 
central theme manifested in President Chen's `inaugural 
speech,' `National Day address,' and his `announcement 
at the National Security Council' are: the United 
States wants President Chen to publicly announce that 
he will accept using the `1992 consensus' to deal with 
the `one China' issue.  This [request] is different 
from [Chen's announcement of] the `five No's' policy. 
The `five No's' policy is simply a request asking 
President Chen to pledge what he will not do, but now 
the [United States] wants Chen to say affirmatively 
that he accepts the '1992 consensus' and 'one China 
[policy].' . 
 
"Within just one month, the United States has twice 
asked President Chen to make a formal announcement in 
public; Washington's concerns over the cross-Strait 
situation are thus perceived.  Likewise, Chen's 
predicament is also made evident by the fact that he 
had to make a public announcement twice within one 
month at the request of the United States, and his 
second announcement was even a supplement to and 
revision of his first one. . 
 
"[National Security Council Secretary-General] Chiou I- 
jen said the United States will talk with Beijing from 
its perspective over Chen's overture at the National 
Security Council.  What Chiou was saying was that 
[Taipei] has done what the United States requested and 
it is now up to Washington as to how it will promote 
Chen's `goodwill gesture' to Beijing. 
 
"For President Chen, it is easy for Washington to put 
words into his mouth and ask him to say in public 
whatever the United States wants him to say. 
Nonetheless, whether Chen's remarks will have any 
positive effect does not really rely on the United 
States; rather, it depends on President Chen . ." 
 
PAAL