US embassy cable - 05TAIPEI4715

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 004715 
 
SIPDIS 
 
EAP/TC; EAP- PLEASE PASS TO AIT/W BSCHRAGE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/22/2015 
TAGS: KPAO, PGOV, PREL, TW 
SUBJECT: DPP SPOKESMAN: DPP STILL HAS PUBLIC SUPPORT, BACK 
ON THE OFFENSIVE 
 
REF: TAIPEI 4646 
 
Classified By: DIR Douglas H. Paal, Reason 1.4(D) 
 
1. (SBU)  AIT's Public Affairs Section (PAS) is looking at 
media strategies and public platforms of Taiwan's main 
political parties in the run-up to the December 3 elections. 
This is the second in a series and follows an earlier report 
on a meeting with the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) spokeswoman 
(see Ref A).  During a November 22 meeting with AIT at 
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) headquarters, DPP 
Spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang described the impact of the 
scandals on DPP ratings, election strategy, media bias, and 
arms procurement.  Cheng explained that the DPP is taking a 
counteroffensive strategy against the KMT, but he did not 
provide an election forecast.  He also expressed his hope for 
progress on the arms procurement issue once the elections end. 
 
Scandals Hurting DPP Ratings 
---------------------------- 
 
2.  (SBU) Cheng attributed the DPP's declining approval 
ratings to the recent scandals involving former Presidential 
Office Deputy Secretary-General Chen Che-nan and the 
Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC), but said he does not 
believe the public sees the DPP as a party of "black gold." 
He suggested that the KMT has overplayed these scandals, and 
this will eventually backfire on the opposition because the 
public understands that Chen Che-nan does not equal the DPP. 
 
DPP Strikes Back 
---------------- 
 
3.  (SBU) Cheng explained that the DPP began a 
counteroffensive strategy starting last week.  They are now 
examining records of opposition candidates and exposing past 
misdeeds.  These efforts have led to a "U-turn" in DPP 
approval ratings.  One example he noted was the KMT's Taipei 
County candidate Chou Hsi-wei.  While he was a Taiwan 
Provincial Council member, Chou had pressured banks to extend 
him substantial loans.  As a result of this exposure, the 
race in Taipei County is getting tighter.  Cheng provided a 
second example of Taichung Mayor Jason Hu.  Cheng stated that 
Hu received excess pension payments from the government when 
he retired from the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) 
because he had counted his time spent as a KMT official in 
calculating his length of government employment. 
 
4.  (SBU) Cheng asserted that the DPP still commands strong 
support in Taipei and Ilan Counties.  He declined to forecast 
results for individual races with the exception of Yunlin 
County, which he believes the DPP will win, and said that he 
sees most races as "seesaw battles." 
 
Significance of Elections 
------------------------- 
5.  (SBU) Cheng described the DPP's election platform as 
consisting of three themes: reform, anti-corruption (both 
within the DPP and in the opposition), and "cherish Taiwan." 
Cheng acknowledged that the DPP's performance over the past 
five years has not been up to par, but he believes things are 
now moving in the right direction and the public recognizes 
these positive developments.  Cheng stated that, although 
these are local elections, they are important because the 
heads of Taiwan's counties and cities will serve as the "main 
support" for presidential candidates in 2008. 
 
6.  (SBU) According to Cheng, these elections are also 
important because: a) This is the first election for Ma 
Ying-jeou as KMT Party Chairman, so this is a good chance to 
gauge his leadership; b) The DPP has several potential 
candidates to succeed President Chen Shui-bian in 2008, so 
this is a good indicator of the party's leadership pool; c) A 
victory by the opposition will send the wrong message to 
China since many KMT and PFP politicians have shown their 
pro-China stance by visiting China, blocking arms 
procurement, and welcoming "Chinese Communists" to Taiwan. 
 
Optimistic About Arms Procurement 
--------------------------------- 
7.  (SBU) Cheng said he is hopeful that once the political 
storm settles after the election, the DPP, KMT, and PFP will 
be able to sit down and discuss the arms procurement issue in 
a "rational" manner.  He believes that there can be progress 
on this issue since the DPP has made some compromises, such 
as the agreement to include PAC-III missiles in the regular 
annual budget rather than in a single special budget.  He 
also feels that public support for arms procurement is 
growing.  Cheng emphasized that the DPP would like to procure 
arms not for use against China, but in order to talk to China 
on equal terms. 
8.  (SBU) Cheng claimed that after then-KMT Chairman Lien 
Chan lost the 2004 presidential election, he changed his 
stance from pro-U.S. to pro-China.  In the process, he also 
converted many KMT legislators in the same direction, adding 
impetus to the anti-arms procurement group.  However, Cheng 
stressed that this is not a Blue versus Green issue, since 
there are people within the KMT and PFP who support arms 
procurement. 
 
"The Media Is Against Us" 
------------------------- 
9.  (SBU) Cheng asserted that it is a "known fact" that the 
Taiwan media is unfriendly towards the DPP, and this "fact" 
is also clear to the public.  Regarding the TVBS issue, the 
DPP leadership has reiterated the party policy of respect for 
freedom of speech, even though TVBS's criticism of the DPP 
was "unfair."  The DPP is now trying to mend relations with 
the media because the party supports democracy, Cheng 
stressed. 
 
10.  (SBU) Cheng described the political leanings of the 
various media outlets in the following manner.  The pro-Blue 
TV stations are CTI, TVBS, ERA, and the pro-Green stations 
are Formosa TV and Sanlih.  ETTV's political stance depends 
on the situation.  In terms of newspapers, China Times and 
United Daily News are pro-Blue, and Liberty Times is 
pro-Green.  Cheng concluded that the pan-Green is thus in an 
inferior position, since the majority of the media supports 
the pan-Blue. 
 
Bio Note: Cheng a Grassroots Activist At Heart 
--------------------------------------------- 
11.  (C) Cheng began his career as a grassroots activist and 
is still in that mold.  He was leader of the student union at 
Taiwan University, and in 1990, he became leader of the 
student political movement "Formosa Lily", which demanded 
political reform.  He joined the DPP in 1991 and has risen 
through the ranks, mostly in public relations positions. 
 
Comment 
------- 
12.  (C) Cheng's comments offer a familiar picture, reviewing 
themes that the DPP has deployed in the press over the last 
few weeks.  He paints the DPP as the underdog, mentioning 
several times that the media is against them but that the 
party still enjoys wide popular support.  In some cases, such 
as the Taichung Mayor Hu's pension issue, Cheng is clearly 
providing only a part of the story.  Not surprisingly, this 
may be better campaign rhetoric than it is policy. 
Paal