US embassy cable - 05TAIPEI372

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 000372 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS AIT/W 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/26/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, TW, Cross Strait Politics 
SUBJECT: TAIWAN USING NGOS FOR IRAQI HUMANITARIAN AID 
 
Classified By: AIT Director Douglas Paal; Reasons: 1.4 (B/D) 
 
1. (C) Summary.  Taiwan has been active since 2003 providing 
Iraq humanitarian assistance and educational training through 
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in cooperation with 
the NGO Mercy Corps.  Taipei is eager to become more involved 
politically and economically in Iraq, but has been forced to 
use NGOs to coordinate its aid programs because Baghdad would 
not accept direct aid from Taiwan due to objections from 
Beijing.  MOFA officials also assert that PRC NGOs in Iraq 
were instructed by Beijing to disrupt Taiwan-NGO activities. 
Taiwan officials claim that their aid projects are not 
politically motivated, but admit MOFA is considering the 
feasibility of establishing an office in Iraq once the 
security situation improves.  Taipei believes its joint 
MOFA-NGO programs in Iraq have been successful and plan 
increasingly to use this model of cooperation as an avenue 
for Taiwan to be more active abroad and counter Beijing's 
global isolation campaign.  End summary. 
 
Blocked By the PRC 
------------------ 
 
2. (C) Taiwan wants to become more involved politically and 
economically in Iraq, but MOFA's Section Chief for West Asian 
Affairs Sami Leu told AIT that the political situation there 
is too "difficult." Leu said that Taipei would like to be 
active in Iraq because there are considerable Taiwanese 
interests at stake, but admitted that Taipei must be 
cautious.  Leu claimed that direct aid was offered to 
Baghdad, but it was refused because of concerns over a strong 
reaction in Beijing.  Leu lamented that Taiwan's options in 
Iraq are limited because of PRC influence.  He said MOFA is 
studying the feasibility of opening an office in Iraq, but 
right now the security situation is too problematic.  Leu 
also informed AIT that the August 2004 offer by Nechervan 
Barzani, the Prime Minister of the Kurdish regional 
government, to allow Taipei to establish an office in 
Kurdistan was still being considered, but not likely to 
happen. 
 
Forced to Use NGOs 
------------------ 
 
3. (C) Due to pressure from Beijing, Taiwan has been forced 
to seek out NGO partners to act as intermediaries for its aid 
to Iraq.  Michel Ching-long Lu, Chairman of MOFA's NGO 
Affairs Committee and the Ministry's Spokesperson, told AIT 
that Taiwan's aid efforts would be blocked by the PRC and 
that using NGOs was Taipei's only viable option.  Lu said 
Taiwan is still encountering problems in Iraq using NGOs. 
For instance, he said that PRC NGOs have been instructed to 
work against Taipei's efforts to coordinate with NGOs in 
Iraq.  Lu added that when Taiwan tries to work with aid 
organizations, Beijing even pressures groups such as Kiwanis 
and Rotary to shun Taipei.  Lu explained that Taiwan's 
activities and work with Mercy Corps is a core part of 
Taipei's strategy to establish alliances with international 
NGOs and stay active around the world. 
 
The Love From Taiwan Project 
---------------------------- 
 
4. (C) MOFA has been using the international NGO Mercy Corps 
to coordinate its primary aid campaign in Iraq called "Love 
From Taiwan." Owen Hsieh, Deputy Executive Secretary of 
MOFA,s Research and Planning Board, which approves aid 
projects, told AIT that Taiwan has found Mercy Corps a useful 
partner and that the relationship allows both parties to 
fulfill a mutual interest in Iraq.  Hsieh said Taiwan's 
efforts in Iraq began in April 2003 when several Taiwan NGOs 
were solicited to take part in the aid campaign with Mercy 
Corps.  The campaign collected 27 containers of material aid 
including food, health supplies, construction materials, and 
provided agriculture assistance to small communities in 
Eastern Iraq.  MOFA also raised approximately $1 million for 
Mercy Corps' "Community Action Initiative" and, in 
partnership with Taiwan's Ministry of Education, is providing 
scholarships for Iraqi students to come to Taiwan and is 
rebuilding damaged schools.  Mercy Corps handles the 
distribution of aid and coordinates the construction efforts 
on the ground for MOFA. 
 
The IT Action in Iraq Project 
----------------------------- 
 
5. (C) MOFA is also funding a $400,000 project called "IT 
Action in Iraq" to establish internet centers in Northern 
Iraq and provide IT training to Iraqi students and teachers. 
MOFA Research and Planning officer Josephine Lee told AIT 
that the program is providing ten schools with internet 
centers and working with over 5000 students and 500 teachers. 
 Lee said this is an ongoing project and is also being 
facilitated by Mercy Corps.  She added that MOFA had hoped 
that Taiwan officials could take part in the aid efforts in 
Iraq, but that security concerns, not Beijing, had kept MOFA 
personnel out of Iraq.  Thus far, she said, Taiwan has only 
been able to send an officer from TECRO in Amman to 
inaugurate a center associated with the grant, and that 
officer stayed in Iraq for only two weeks. 
 
Expanding the NGO Model 
----------------------- 
 
6. (C) Taiwan officials believe that increasing cooperation 
with NGOs will help Taipei find a way to break free from 
Beijing's efforts to isolate Taiwan in the global community. 
MOFA's Lu told AIT that officials were pleased with the 
results of their work with Mercy Corps and view it as a model 
for what Taiwan would like to do in the future.  Lu said this 
MOFA-NGO cooperation would be one model for future Taiwan 
humanitarian assistance.  Research and Planning's Lee 
explained that Mercy Corps is also satisfied and wants 
additional projects funded in Iraq and will likely propose a 
new project in February, which the Research and Planning 
Board will consider.  Lu remarked that it was difficult to 
say whether Taiwan will have additional funds to spend on 
Iraq and added that Taipei is not trying to promote any 
political aims. 
 
Comment:  No Other Choice 
------------------------- 
 
7. (C) The fact that Taipei is having difficulties working 
with NGOs to provide humanitarian aid in Iraq is one more 
indicator of the breadth -- and the effectiveness -- of 
Beijing's efforts to isolate Taiwan.  Taiwan is reaching out 
to NGOs because it has been unsuccessful in its efforts to 
join international organizations, largely because of PRC 
influence.  Taiwan diplomats see working with NGOs as a 
possible avenue for multi-lateral diplomacy.  Despite 
assurances from MOFA to the contrary, it is likely that MOFA 
is trying to use these humanitarian projects to promote its 
interests in Iraq and pursue the possibility of establishing 
some sort of relationship with Baghdad.  Taipei is also 
trying to gain as much leverage as possible from its aid 
programs in Iraq.  The "Love From Taiwan" campaign was used 
by MOFA as a public relations effort and was the subject of a 
conference in December 2004 complete with distinguished 
guests and press. 
PAAL