A US diplomat in Seoul has shocked a group of visiting Congressional staff members by allegedly making highly insensitive comments about two journalists — Taiwanese-American Laura Ling (凌志美) and Korean-American Euna Lee — now facing serious criminal charges in North Korea.
William Stanton, deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in South Korea and a candidate for the next director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), is said to have told the visitors during a briefing that the two young journalists were “stupid” and that their case was “distracting from bigger issues.”
Congressional sources said most of the nine visitors — all in their 20s and on a training trip to Asia — were particularly distressed because both Ling and Lee could be sentenced to long prison terms and there is strong evidence they did nothing wrong.
At least one of the visitors was so upset about Stanton's attitude that he wrote a memorandum to a member of Congress giving full details of the briefing, including Stanton's statements.
The memorandum has become a topic of hot discussion among senior Congressional staff and a copy has been sent to the US State Department. No officials would comment on the situation last night and it is not known if it will lead to a formal inquiry.
While the Taipei Times has not received a copy of the memorandum, a senior Congressional staff member read directly from it over the telephone.
A second source later confirmed that the memorandum was being widely discussed.
Stanton's briefing took place on either April 7 or April 8 — the two journalists were detained on March 17 — and according to the memorandum, he did not appear to be concerned that the young visitors were openly taking notes of what he said.
The visiting young Congressional staffers said that Stanton did not request confidentiality or indicate that he was speaking privately or off the record.
This is the second time that complaints about Stanton's behavior have gone to his superiors at the US State Department.
While Stanton has not been formally appointed, he is believed to be at the top of the short list for AIT director.
As the Taipei Times reported late last month, Stanton would be a controversial choice because of allegations that when he worked at the US embassy in Beijing in the mid-1990s, he was known for his strong support for Chinese policies and impeded internal reports critical of the Chinese regime.
Congressional sources said they feared that he would not look after Taiwan's interests but would be inclined to favor the Chinese side when reporting back to Washington.
The State Department is deeply concerned about the two female journalists, both in their 20s, who were taken into custody by North Korean border guards patrolling the Tumen River along that country's border with China.
Pyongyang officials said in a statement on March 22: “Two Americans were detained on March 17 while illegally intruding into the territory of the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] by crossing the DPRK-China border. A competent organ is now investigating the case.”
Ling and Lee work for the San Francisco-based online news outlet Current TV, which was founded by former US vice president Al Gore and tycoon Joel Hyatt.
The two women were in the area to interview refugees who had fled North Korea and were living on the Chinese side of the border.
There is evidence that the North Korean guards crossed the river and grabbed the women on the Chinese side, forcing them into North Korea at gunpoint.
In a statement this week, North Korea said the women would be charged with “hostile acts” and would go on trial at some unspecified time in the future.
This comes amid mounting diplomatic tensions between Pyongyang and the international community, including the US, over its rogue nuclear program.
Andrei Lankov, a North Korea expert at Kookmin University in Seoul, said in an interview, that the Americans had become another “negotiating chip” for Pyongyang as it embarks on negotiations with Washington and its allies over the nuclear impasse.
There is fear that North Korea might stage a show trial and sentence the two women to as much as ten years in a hard labor prison.
The Ling family emigrated from Taiwan to the US several years ago and now lives in Los Angeles.
Laura Ling's older sister, Lisa Ling, a former co-host of the US TV talk show The View and now a correspondent for National Geographic Channel's Explorer, has refused to comment.
It is understood that the families of both women have been advised by the State Department to keep low profiles and not to talk about the case.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
RSS