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Li Peng says he didn't bug Jiang's plane

China's second-in-command Li Peng (李鵬) yesterday denied any knowledge of the reported bugging of Chinese President Jiang Zemin's (江澤民) new US-ordered plane.

The Washington Times reported Friday that US intelligence officials believe Jiang is convinced that Li ordered the installation of surveillance devices to monitor the president's discussions about corruption linked to his family.

Following a meeting with senior Macau officials and local community leaders at the Macau Cultural Center yesterday, Li was asked by reporters whether he knew anything about the bugging of Jiang's new plane.

Li, chairman of the standing committee of the National People's Congress, replied: "I know nothing about it" and did not elaborate.

Two Western newspapers reported last month that the Boeing 767, delivered from the US in August, was riddled with bugs, throwing suspicion on US intelligence agencies.

But theories that the bugging may have been an internal affair will be lent added credence by Friday's reports.

China is preparing for wide ranging leadership changes expected at a Communist Party congress this fall, a fact that has spurred suspicion that the bugging was orchestrated within the country.

Both China and the US have been silent on the bugging of the jet, keen to ensure the success of US President George W. Bush's official visit to Beijing at the end of the week.

The highly sophisticated bugs planted on the plane, including inside Jiang's bathroom and in the headboard of the presidential bed, were tiny, satellite-operated devices, according to reports.

Jiang was said to be furious at the discovery. The bugs were detected after the aircraft emitted a "strange static whine" during test flights in China in September, the Financial Times said.

Li arrived in Macau for a two-day visit at the invitation of Macau's Chief Executive Edmund Ho (何厚鏵) on Saturday.

It is his first visit to the territory since its reversion to Chinese rule in December 1999.
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