US embassy cable - 05TAIPEI2041

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 002041 
 
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, Cross Strait Politics 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: CROSS-STRAIT RELATIONS 
 
1. Summary: Taiwan May 5 dailies focused on two aspects 
of cross-Strait relations: China's unfriendly gestures 
toward Taiwan, and Taiwan's moves to test to what 
extent China will show its goodwill toward Taiwan. 
With regard to China's unfriendly gestures, the pro- 
independence "Liberty Times," Taiwan's biggest daily, 
carried a banner headline on the front page that read: 
"China's oil exploration vessel illegally entered 
Taiwan waters several times.'  The centrist "China 
Times" headlined in page five: "China supports Taiwan 
to join the WHO? No way."  As to Taiwan's move to test 
China's responses, the "China Times" carried a report 
in page one regarding PFP Chairman James Soong's 
upcoming "bridge-building" visit to China, and the pro- 
unification "United Daily News" reported in page one 
Taiwan's plan to link cross-Strait cargo flights with 
China's proposal of allowing China people to travel to 
Taiwan. 
 
2. Editorials of most Taiwan dailies commented on the 
aftermath of KMT Chairman Lien Chan's visit to China. 
The "Liberty Times" editorialized that the fact that 
President Chen Shui-bian changed his attitude toward 
Lien's China trip cannot be forgiven by Taiwan people, 
and as a result his approval rating in a recent poll 
slumped by seven percent. A "United Daily News" 
editorial made the comment that Chen's denial of the 
"1992 consensus" would hinder both sides of the Taiwan 
from achieving a cross-Strait win-win situation on 
economics.  End summary. 
 
A) "Those Who Betray Taiwan People and Choose to Walk 
on China's Red Carpet Can Step down Now!" 
 
The pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 
800,000] editorialized (5/5): 
 
". A-bian's change of attitude [toward the China trips 
by KMT Chairman Lien Chan and PFP Chairman James Soong] 
seems to be related to the fact that he has only three 
years remaining in his term of office and that he does 
not want to step down without any real achievements. 
Chen's intention may be understandable but is 
unacceptable for the Taiwan people because even though 
reconciliation between the ruling and opposition 
political parties is a good thing, it cannot be done at 
the expense of the people's national identification and 
their well-being.  A-bian's turnaround regarding his 
[political route] and his concessions concerning 
national identification have endangered the foundation 
of Taiwan's existence.  In fact, people support A-bian 
as the president because they support the Taiwanization 
route that he adopts and people are concerned about 
Taiwan's existence and survival.  If A-bian makes 
compromise with or concessions to any political groups 
or individuals that represent the China route, it will 
mean betrayal to his voters.  Recently, some DPP 
grassroots supporters began to demand that A-bian 
withdraw from the DPP, and a poll survey also showed 
that the DPP's approval rate has dropped by seven 
percentage points.  The DPP officials are also confused 
and thus fail to identify with A-bian's changing China 
policy.  All these show that once A-bian betrays the 
Taiwan people and chooses to walk on the red carpet of 
China, perhaps the role he will play on the political 
stage will not be the `key act' but the `closing 
ceremony' for him to step down." 
 
B) "Between the Thin Line of Ice and Fire: Do Not 
Rashly Miss the Opportunity of a Win-Win [Situation] 
for Cross-Strait Trade" 
 
The pro-unification "United Daily News" [circulation: 
600,000] commented in its editorial (5/5): 
 
".  The impact of KMT Chairman Lien Chan's meeting with 
Chinese President Hu Jintao on Taiwan's economy remains 
uncertain, but the key [of the impact] lies in the 
response of the ruling authorities.  If President Chen 
. can respect Lien as an opposition leader . and 
exercise his dominant influence of a ruler and seek to 
coordinate and pragmatically review the viable parts of 
the conclusions made during the Lien-Hu meeting; and if 
Chen can start with positive talks with the opposition 
parties, followed by a non-political dialogue with 
Beijing in an attempt to respond to the business 
sector's expectations for a stable development of cross- 
Strait trade relations, the opportunity to create a win- 
win situation for both sides of the Taiwan Strait is 
sure to succeed.  On the other hand, however, if Chen 
simply denies every possibility by citing the 
contentious `1992 Consensus' and as a result, 
eradicates any mutual trust between the ruling and 
opposition parties and between the two sides of the 
Taiwan Strait, or even tries to trigger a bigger 
conflict, chances are high that [cross-Strait 
relations] will take a big step backwards. 
 
"As a matter of fact, [we] do not need to aim high with 
regard to the establishment of a cross-Strait economic 
cooperation mechanism; making cross-Strait interaction 
predictable is perhaps the most pragmatic approach. 
[We believe] such a [positive] development is worth 
waiting for, judging from the signals sent by Chen 
overseas that said the `main show across the Taiwan 
Strait is not on yet' and his characterization of 
Lien's and Soong's China trips as a move to pave the 
way for `future direct dialogue between governments of 
both sides of the Taiwan Strait.'" 
 
PAAL