US embassy cable - 05TAIPEI3006

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TAIPEI 003006 
 
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, Domestic Politics 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF 
STATE RANDY SCHRIVER'S TAIWAN VISIT, NORTH KOREA, U.S.- 
CHINA-TAIWAN RELATIONS 
 
1. Summary: Almost all the major Chinese-language 
Taipei dailies reported July 13 on President Chen Shui- 
bian's meeting with visiting former U.S. Deputy 
Assistant Secretary of State Randy Schriver and his 
awarding Schriver a medal for his contribution to U.S.- 
Taiwan relations.  The pro-independence "Liberty 
Times,' Taiwan's biggest daily, ran a banner headline 
on page three that read: "President Chen: China fever 
will come down real soon."  The sub-headline added: 
"[Chen] emphasized when meeting with Randy Schriver 
that China's various united front actions will only 
make Taiwan more determined to walk down its own road. 
[Chen said] the timing for Bian and [Chinese President] 
Hu to meet will fall within the next two years."  A 
separate news story on the same page of the "Liberty 
Times" was topped with the headline: "Randy Schriver: 
Taiwan should demonstrate its determination to defend 
itself."  The pro-independence "Taiwan Daily" printed a 
banner headline on its front page with the headline: 
"Bian: Those who are favored by Beijing will find no 
market in Taiwan."  The centrist "China Times" also 
carried a news story on an inside page that was topped 
with a similar headline: "Bian: Those who are favored 
by Beijing are not the mainstream in Taiwan." 
 
2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, "Liberty 
Times" journalist Su Yung-yao said in a news analysis 
that Schriver's remarks indicate that the "One China" 
policy cannot represent the entirety of U.S. policy 
toward Taiwan, and that the United States is very 
concerned about the rise of China.  James Tu, president 
of the mass-circulation "Apple Daily," commented on the 
crisis on the Korean peninsula; he wrote that the 
United States does not need to shoulder the North 
Korean crisis all by itself.  Soon enough, Tu wrote, 
the Kim Jong Il regime will become a nightmare for 
China and for international society.  An editorial in 
the limited-circulation, conservative, pro-unification, 
English-language "China Post" commented on U.S. 
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's recent visit to 
 
SIPDIS 
Beijing.  The editorial urged Washington not to send 
the wrong signal to President Chen Shui-bian again. 
End summary. 
 
1. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Randy Schriver's 
Taiwan Visit 
 
"Have [Taiwan's] Opposition Parties Grasped the Meaning 
of Randy Schriver's Remarks? [Randy] Made it Clear that 
the One China Policy Cannot Represent the Whole of U.S. 
Policy; [He] Also Expressed Concern for the Rise of 
China" 
 
Journalist Su Yung-yao wrote in a news analysis in the 
pro-independence "Liberty Times" [circulation: 800,000] 
(7/13): 
 
". In some people's eyes, the United States' One China 
policy seems to be an eternal and irrevocable 
principle.  But for [Deputy Assistant Secretary of 
State] Randy Schriver, who used to be in charge of East 
Asian affairs, he indicated very clearly that the One 
China policy cannot represent the whole picture of 
Washington's Taiwan policy.  The major significance [of 
the One China policy], [according to Schriver], is not 
a geographical concept; on the contrary, it is based on 
the needs for peace.  Other parts, like the Six 
Assurances that Washington has guaranteed [Taiwan] and 
the Taiwan Relations Act, are also elements of U.S. 
policy. 
 
"What [Schriver's] remarks imply is [that it is] not 
simply a matter of which element is more important; it 
also involves a decision [that is made about] which 
element should come first.  If Washington only has the 
One China policy, then it does not need to sell 
defensive weapons to Taiwan, nor would it assist 
Taiwan's participation in the international 
organizations. 
 
"All these small episodes that have truly represented 
the substantive interaction between Taiwan and the 
United States have exactly reflected Washington's 
emerging strategic view toward the Asia Pacific region, 
namely, its distrust and concern over the rise of 
China. . 
 
"Schriver believes that the instability caused by the 
rise of China has in return generated an excellent 
opportunity for Taiwan's development.  He therefore 
believes that the United States should show more 
support to Taiwan to become a powerful `representative 
[of democracy]' and should urge Taiwan to develop 
[better] relations with its neighboring countries in 
the Asia-Pacific region, such as Japan and Australia. 
More importantly, [Schriver thinks] Taiwan should 
quickly establish its self-defense capabilities. . 
 
"Schriver has directly pointed out that the One China 
policy cannot represent the whole of U.S. policy 
[toward Taiwan].  Nonetheless, some political party 
leaders in Taiwan still insist on advocating for One 
China - a move to belittle the island - and they have 
gone to Beijing to show their positions.  Should any 
imbalance occur across the Taiwan Strait, the disaster 
surely [would] stem from [an element] inside Taiwan." 
 
2. North Korea 
 
"Let [North Korean Leader] Kim Jong Il Become 
Everyone's Nightmare" 
 
James Tu, President of the mass-circulation "Apple 
Daily" [circulation: 500,000] commented (7/13): 
 
". The United States should recognize that China's 
policy toward North Korea is changing, and more and 
more young Chinese officials have begun to view North 
Korea as a burden or a threat.  The more China needs an 
environment for its peaceful development, the less it 
will tolerate a bad neighbor [like Pyongyang] that is 
unpredictable, wages war frequently, and could easily 
drag it into the storms of war.  Beijing cannot stop 
giving aid and support to North Korea all of a sudden, 
but it does not mean China has no plan to totally 
transform the regime in Pyongyang. 
 
"The United States does not need to shoulder the crisis 
on the Korean peninsula all by itself.  Kim Jong Il's 
regime is not simply a nightmare for the United States 
and Japan; it is, without doubt, a nightmare for South 
Korea, and real soon, it will be a nightmare for China 
and for the international community, too.  When that 
day comes, if interests on the Korean peninsula can be 
distributed reasonably, it will not be so difficult or 
cost such a high price to resolve the North Korean 
issue." 
 
3. U.S.-China-Taiwan Relations 
 
"U.S. Must Avoid Sending Wrong Signals to Chen" 
 
The conservative, pro-unification, English-language 
"China Post" [circulation: 30,000] editorialized 
(7/13): 
 
"When U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice once 
again urged Beijing to `extend contacts with the 
elected government of Taiwan' during her visit to the 
capital of mainland China over the weekend, it pointed 
to an obvious need for Washington to update its 
knowledge on current cross-strait interaction. . 
 
"First, it gives the impression that it has been 
illegitimate for the two opposition parties to 
negotiate with Beijing for the opening of its markets 
to Taiwan, as have been the case, because they do not 
have a popular mandate.  But the fact is that the KMT 
and the PFP together hold a majority of seats in the 
Legislature. . 
 
"Washington's continued stress on the need for Beijing 
to deal with the elected government of Taiwan without 
bothering to examine why the current round of cross- 
strait dialogue has failed to extend to the official 
level could easily lead many people here and abroad to 
believe that the opposition parties are being exploited 
by the PRC government as a united front tool to isolate 
Chen [Shui-bian] and his government. . 
 
"In fact, anyone who has observed the recent string of 
remarks and moves made by Chen will find that the 
leader is showing hardly any interest in seeking to 
open dialogue with Beijing. . 
 
"By ignoring such provocative remarks and continuing to 
attack Beijing for seeking to isolate Chen in cross- 
strait relations, Washington is again sending wrong 
signals to him as in 2003 when Chen pitched a new 
constitution and a defensive referendum in his campaign 
for re-election. . 
 
"The U.S. government must avoid repeating those 
mistakes now that Chen is again trying to adopt an anti- 
China posture ahead of the competitive year-end 
elections of city and county governments." 
 
KEEGAN