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Visit unrelated to Keyser flap: Chen

The two Taiwanese agents conducting covert meetings with former US State Department official Donald Keyser have done nothing illegal, and Taipei-Washington ties will not be affected by the furor surrounding Keyser's arrest, Minster of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (陳唐山) said yesterday.

The minister dismissed media reports that he made a rushed trip to the US to "put out fires" sparked by allegations that Keyser, former principle deputy assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs, passed US government documents to Taiwanese intelligence agents and concealed a trip to Taiwan.

Chen arrived at Dulles International Airport in Virginia yesterday after wrapping up a trip to Taiwan's ally Grenada, which was devastated by Hurricane Ivan.

The minister was originally scheduled to preside over several routine meetings with Taiwanese diplomats in the US at the end of this month. He flew to Grenada a day after news of Keyser's arrest broke out.

Chen told reporters at Dulles that the purpose of his US trip was to meet with Taiwanese diplomats.

"I am not here to handle Keyser's case and have no plan to meet with the two Taiwanese agents," he said.

The routine meetings will take place tomorrow and Friday in Baltimore, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In the question-and-answer session in the legislature yesterday, Premier Yu Shyi-kun said that according to one of Keyser's close friends, Keyser has the habit of preparing talking points for people he meets with, and usually puts discussion topics in envelopes.

"It is hard to judge whether Keyser has passed discussion topics or classified information to the Taiwanese agents," Yu added.

Stressing that the agents had no intention of violating US laws, the premier promised that the country will cooperate with the US in handling the case.

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Kau (高英茂), who joined Yu in the legislative session, admitted that the ministry has not known in advance about Keyser's meetings with Taiwanese agents.

The ministry is not directly involved in the National Security Bureau's (NSB) intelligence collecting job, but the two agencies shall strengthen communication about their work, Kau said.

Meanwhile, Chris Cockel, husband of Isabella Cheng (程念慈), one of the two agents who met with Keyser, yesterday sent a letter to Washington-based Taiwanese correspondents urging them to verify facts before writing stories.

Cockel, the China Post's correspondent in Washington, expressed frustration over the media's rampant insinuations that the NSB used his wife as bait to get information from Keyser and that Cheng had an affair with the former US official.

Cockel and Cheng were married in July, and the newlyweds recently returned from their honeymoon. In his letter, Cockel asked reporters to show some consideration for him and his wife.

He said many of the reports about Cheng and Keyser were incorrect. The reports have put some people's lives, families and careers in danger, Cockel wrote, without elaborating.

Cockel pleaded with reporters to think about possible consequences their reports might have and to check facts before writing stories.
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