US embassy cable - 05TAIPEI3825

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 003825 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - ERIC 
BARBORIAK 
DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC, KMDR, KPAO, TW 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: BUSH-HU MEETING 
 
 
1. Summary: Major Chinese-language Taipei dailies 
focused their coverage September 15 on the meeting 
between U.S. President George W. Bush and Chinese 
President Hu Jintao in New York Tuesday, the failure of 
Taiwan's U.N. bid, and the opposition parties' boycott 
of legislative affairs in the Legislative Yuan.  The 
pro-independence "Liberty Times," Taiwan's biggest 
daily, ran a banner headline on its page two that read: 
"Bush-Hu meeting: Bush urges Hu to engage in a dialogue 
with the [Chen Shui-] Bian administration."  The pro- 
unification "United Daily News,' however, reported the 
Bush-Hu meeting from a different perspective; it said 
in a front page news story: "Hu Jintao meets with Bush: 
[Hu] hopes [the United States] will join it to maintain 
peace across the Taiwan Strait."  The newspaper also 
spent almost half of its second page reporting on the 
issues discussed in the Bush-Hu meeting, and one of the 
news stories was topped with the headline: "Hu invites 
[Bush] to jointly manage the Taiwan Strait; Bush 
replies with the one China [policy]." 
 
2. In terms of editorials and commentaries, Washington 
correspondent Norman Fu said in the centrist "China 
Times" that China's current policy is to constrain 
Taiwan independence via the United States.  Fu also 
suggested that the DPP government realize this 
development and give up the dream of declaring 
independence.  Dr. Cheng Tuan-yao, Chief of the 
Institute of International Relations' American and 
European Studies Division, National Cheng-chi 
University, said in the conservative, pro-unification 
"United Daily News" that in the face of the 
increasingly interdependent and constraining 
development of Washington-Beijing ties, Taiwan needs to 
ponder how many bargaining chips it can still get hold 
of in coping with Beijing's "offenses" and how much 
"credibility" Taiwan still has to seek the U.S. 
support.  End summary. 
 
A) "Bush-Hu Summit and Taiwan" 
 
Washington correspondent Norman Fu said in the 
"Washington Lookout" column of the centrist, pro-status 
quo "China Times" [circulation: 400,000] (9/15): 
 
". It is evident that Beijing's current strategy is to 
restrain Taiwan independence via the United States. 
That's why [Chinese President] Hu Jintao said openly 
that he wants `the United States to join the Chinese 
side' to safeguard stability across the Taiwan Strait 
and oppose Taiwan independence.'  Washington requires 
Beijing's assistance when it comes to major issues such 
as North Korea and the war on terrorism, and `Taiwan 
independence' also fails to meet the United States' 
interests.  As a result, it has gradually become a 
joint strategic objective for both Beijing and 
Washington not to support Taiwan independence.  If the 
DPP government fails to realize such a development and 
continue to dream of declaring independence, it will be 
too late for everything when it finally wakes up to the 
truth. 
 
"Ever since the DPP became the ruling party, the `de- 
sinicization' movement promoted inside Taiwan in an 
effort to create new recognition and a new identity for 
Taiwan have achieved certain results.  But these 
results are evident on this island only; [the DPP] 
still fails to get out of the `little box' [it is in] 
once it steps out of Taiwan.  In the foreseeable 
future, it will only be more difficult for Taiwan to 
try to get out of the little box." 
 
B) "Bush-Hu Meeting: `United States Joining the Chinese 
Side;' How Is Taiwan Going to Resist [Such a 
Development]?" 
 
Dr. Cheng Tuan-yao, Chief of the Institute of 
International Relations' American and European Studies 
Division, National Cheng-chi University, commented in 
the conservative, pro-unification "United Daily News" 
[circulation: 400,000] (9/15): 
 
". [During Tuesday's meeting between U.S. President 
George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao,] 
Beijing still regarded the Taiwan issue as a top 
priority and has, to most people's surprise, adopted a 
very tough approach toward the issue.  In addition to 
reiterating Beijing's previous requests that Washington 
continue to `abide by the one China policy, three Sino- 
American joint communiqus and the position opposing 
Taiwan independence,' Hu also added that he `hopes the 
United States will join China in maintaining peace and 
stability across the Taiwan Strait and opposing Taiwan 
independence.'  The key words in Hu's remarks are 
`[both sides] working jointly to maintain [cross-Strait 
peace]' because it is a concept and behavior of joint 
cooperation and management. . The fact that Hu has 
formally brought up this concept is of grave 
significance.  It indicated Beijing's official position 
that it will never waver when it comes to opposing 
independence.  In the meantime, it also revealed that 
Beijing is getting more and more pragmatic and 
confident in dealing with the Taiwan issue - namely, 
Beijing has made a great breakthrough from its previous 
practices of disliking the United States' involvement 
in the cross-Strait issues, to constraining Taiwan via 
the United States in the late Jiang Zemin period, and 
finally, to Hu's inviting Washington now to work with 
China to jointly maintain cross-Strait peace and oppose 
Taiwan independence. . 
"In a nutshell, the Bush-Hu meeting in New York 
revealed that both sides have different priorities 
regarding the issues that need to be discussed, and 
they have different objectives and requests.  In the 
meantime, Beijing and Washington each has its own 
bargaining chips while they are unable to solve any 
individual issue without the other's help; they both 
need each other's goodwill responses.  This kind of 
relationship that requires cooperation from both sides 
while at the same time both sides are restrained by 
each other is, without doubt, the image of the current 
Washington-Beijing ties.  [The features of] such type 
of a relationship will grow more evident as 
interactions between the two sides increase and 
Beijing's power expands.  That is why the Bush 
administration has repeatedly emphasized over the past 
few months the complexities of its relations with 
Beijing. 
 
"Finally, in the face of the increasingly 
interdependent and constraining development of 
Washington-Beijing ties, Taiwan needs to ponder how 
many bargaining chips it can still get hold of in 
coping with Beijing's `offenses' and how much 
`credibility' it still has to seek U.S. support." 
 
KEEGAN