The Presidential Office yesterday hit back at foreign academics questioning the timing of accusing 17 former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government officials of having “failed to return” 36,000 documents during the DPP administration, saying the move was not politically motivated.
Presidential Office Spokesman Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said it was “unfair” for foreigners who knew little about the situation to “recklessly interfere in and criticize” the legal means President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration has adopted to deal with the matter and label it as a “political ploy.”
“It is an absolute disrespect for Taiwan’s rule of law,” he said. “It is a fact that a large quantity of documents are missing. After learning of the fact, we don’t have any other alternative but to deal with the matter in accordance with the law.”
If the people in question felt they should not be held responsible for the missing documents, they should offer a clear account to the Control Yuan, honestly and candidly, Lo said.
Lo made the remarks in response to an open letter signed by 34 academics and writers from the US, Canada, Europe and Australia that was published in yesterday’s edition of the Taipei Times.
They included former American Institute in Taiwan chairman Nat Bellochi; Stephen Yates, former deputy assistant for national security affairs to former US vice president Dick Cheney, and Bruce Jacobs, a Monash University professor and expert on Taiwanese politics. One of the signatories is Taiwanese.
They questioned the timing of the Presidential Office’s allegations, saying they should have been made during the transition period between the DPP administration and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government in 2008.
“To come up with this matter three years later, when the primaries for next year’s presidential elections are underway, suggests a political motive,” they said in the letter.
Besides, the announcement of the “missing documents” came one day before former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) declared his candidacy in the DPP presidential primary, they said.
“Announcing an investigation of him and the others at this time certainly gives the impression of a political ploy intended to discredit the DPP and its candidates,” they said.
“As observers of political developments in Taiwan for many decades, we believe that these charges are politically motivated,” they said. “It appears to be an attempt to use the Control Yuan and judicial system for political ends, in an effort to appear ‘legal’ and avoid criticism by foreign governments and human rights groups.”
Lo urged the letter’s signatories to “respect Taiwan’s rule of law before the Control Yuan concludes its investigation.”
On the timing of the announcement, Lo said the investigation into the “missing documents” began in September 2008 at the request of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office Special Investigation Panel, which found 44 boxes of documents that former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had taken away from the Presidential Office after he stepped down.
Because of the office’s limited manpower, Lo said it took them more than two years to complete the probe.
As Taiwan has elections almost every year, Lo said he wondered when would be the best time to expose the matter.
“The Republic of China is a country ruled by law. I believe not a single government in the world would sit idly by when it discovers its official documents have gone missing and are circulating outside,” he said. “If we do not report the matter to the authorities, we risk being held responsible politically and legally.”
Lo said most staffers at the offices of the 17 former DPP officials in question were not career public servants and had left with their DPP employers.
As for why Ma’s team did not disclose the matter during the transition period, Lo said the handover in May 2008 was merely symbolic and that they were not aware of any missing documents at that time.
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS