US embassy cable - 05TAIPEI2929

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 002929 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/RSP/TC AND EB/TPP/MTA, STATE PASS AIT/W AND 
USTR, USTR FOR FREEMAN, WINELAND AND WINTERS, GENEVA FOR 
USTR SHARK 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/30/2015 
TAGS: ECON, ETRD, TW, Trade 
SUBJECT: TAIWAN SEES RED OVER WTO BLUE BOOK 
 
REF: TAIPEI 2526 
 
Classified By: AIT Director Douglas Paal, Reason 1.4 b/d 
 
1.  (C) Summary: Taiwan officials publicly claimed to be 
surprised by World Trade Organization  (WTO) Secretary 
General Supachai's decision to release the long delayed "Blue 
Book" directory of WTO Permanent Representatives without 
listing diplomatic titles of Chinese Taipei staff.  However, 
MOFA privately told AIT they were expecting this decision and 
have been considering for several months how to respond. 
Taiwan has demanded that the WTO reissue the Blue Book with 
diplomatic titles included.  Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs (MOFA) condemned the WTO decision and accused China 
of pressuring the WTO SecGen to downgrade Taiwan's status in 
the organization.  MOFA acknowledged that Taipei has greater 
concerns in the WTO than the blue book titles.  MOFA says its 
very public response is designed to head off domestic 
criticism that the administration is not doing enough to 
protect Taiwan sovereignty.  End Summary. 
 
============================================= 
Blue Book Publication Actually Not a Surprise 
============================================= 
 
2.  (C) Contrary to press reports and statements from MOFA, 
the release of the WTO Directory (aka "the Blue Book"), 
reported in Taiwan on June 28, after being delayed for more 
than two years did not take Taipei by surprise.  The 
directory had traditionally been updated biannually, but 
since 2003, when China requested that the Secretariat alter 
Chinese Taipei's official designation to match that of Hong 
Kong and Macao, no new blue book has been issued.  The WTO 
Secretariat reportedly contacted Taiwan's mission in Geneva 
 
SIPDIS 
early in 2005 and insisted that the blue book be published 
before Secretary General Supachai steps down.  MOFA and the 
NSC allegedly agreed to a compromise that would eliminate 
diplomatic titles but continue to refer to Chinese Taipei's 
Geneva WTO office as the Permanent Mission of the Separate 
Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu. 
However, China's passage of the anti-secession law led the 
NSC and MOFA to back away from the tentatively agreed 
compromise.  Secretary General Supachai, after much 
consultation with both sides, reportedly made the decision to 
publish in order to resolve the matter before his imminent 
departure.  According to MOFA's Department of Economics and 
Trade, the book is not an official document and has no 
official standing, meaning that Chinese Taipei's WTO staff 
will continue to enjoy diplomatic privileges, despite their 
lack of diplomatic titles in the blue book. 
 
==================================== 
MOFA Shouts for Domestic Audience... 
==================================== 
 
3.  (C) MOFA's strident statements condemning the issuance of 
the blue book are primarily for domestic political 
consumption and do not fully reflect Taiwan's position. 
Oliver Hsiao, newly returned from Geneva and now in MOFA's 
Department of Economics and Trade, WTO office, told AIT that 
contrary to press statements that Chinese Taipei had only 
been informed the day before, the release of the blue book 
had privately been expected for some time.  He said MOFA's 
biggest concern about the change was how to respond to the 
inevitable political accusations that MOFA had failed to 
protect Taiwan's sovereignty in the WTO.  To counter these, 
he suggested, MOFA needed to condemn the decision loudly and 
make sure the blame fell squarely on China.  (NOTE: China 
didn't get all it wanted either, Chinese reps have long 
pushed to change Chinese Taipei's designation from a 
permanent mission to a trade office.  END NOTE.) 
 
4.  (SBU) MOFA's expectations of domestic political 
grandstanding were on the mark.  Taiwan Solidarity Union 
(TSU) Representative Lai Hsin-yuan, who has been leading the 
criticism of the government's handling of U.S. beef imports, 
diverted her attention long enough to excoriate the Chen 
administration's handling of the issue as "a disgrace to the 
country."  People First Party's (PFP) Chen Chih-pin accused 
the government of "lacking awareness that China will sooner 
or later take action to deal with Taiwan in the WTO" and 
insisted that the government publicly account for the blue 
book changes. 
 
========================================= 
But Trying to Build Relations with New SG 
========================================= 
 
5.  (C) MOFA's Hsiao told AIT that Chinese Taipei's Geneva 
office would print "corrections" to the blue book that 
include the diplomatic titles of all Chinese Taipei staff 
assigned to the WTO Mission and distribute these to other WTO 
Missions.  He predicted that the Chinese Taipei mission would 
do so each time the blue book is revised.  However, he 
suggested acceptance of the inevitable publication of the 
blue book was part of Chinese Taipei's strategy to start off 
on the right foot with incoming WTO Secretary General Lamy. 
Chinese Taipei has larger concerns in the WTO, including 
accession to the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), 
according to Hsiao. 
 
6.  (C) Comment: Taiwan's MOFA is playing to the Taiwan 
domestic audience, although it says it recognizes the 
potential cost to its credibility abroad.  This continues a 
long-standing practice where MOFA attempts to use each 
international meeting to bolster its sovereignty claims and 
each snub to attack China for squeezing Taiwan out of the 
international space.  The publication of the blue book could 
potentially allow Taiwan the breathing room needed to make 
progress on nomenclature issues that have prevented Taiwan 
from living up to its WTO accession commitment to join the 
GPA.  If Chinese Taipei is able to use this to play a more 
productive role in the WTO, it will be a small price to pay. 
End comment. 
KEEGAN