Former National Security Council secretary-general Su Chi’s (蘇起) new book caused a stir yesterday when a passage in it was interpreted as implying that former vice president Lien Chan (連戰) leaked information to China, prompting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) to demand that the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) look into the matter.
The publication of the book, 20 years of Vacillations in Cross-Strait Relations (兩岸波濤二 十年紀實), comes in the wake of the council ousting deputy minister Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀) on suspicion of leaking classified information.
In the book, Su writes that when he briefed Lien on the contents of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) inauguration speech a day before the 2008 inaugural ceremony took place, Lien had asked that the speech be recited slowly so he could transcribe it word for word.
Photo: George tsorng, Taipei Times
Su said that at the time, he “could not dare to think more about why [Lien would need to have a complete copy].”
Since the book hit the shelves, some media personalities have said they suspect Su was implying that Lien intended to leak the information to Beijing.
At a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee yesterday, Tsai said he would “help Su think more” if he could not dare to do so himself.
“[He] suspected that Lien is a ‘red’ spy who leaked national information to Chinese leaders,” the legislator said.
Responding to Tsai’s questioning, MAC Deputy Minister Lin Chu-chia (林祖嘉) said that since Su “could not dare” to deliberate the matter further, “we cannot know what Su was thinking about either.”
“Former MAC deputy minister Chang Hsien-yao was put under investigation for leaking information just because he allegedly disclosed some information to Taiwanese businesspeople [in China], who later passed it on to Chinese officials. In Su’s book, Lien is indirectly accused of being a spy who sells information for personal gain, but the council is playing dead about it,” Tsai said.
When Lin said that Chang was put under investigation because of a tip-off, Tsai retorted that Su “openly talked” about the allegations in the book and asked the council to initiate an investigation into the supposed claim.
“We will need to sort the matter out further [before taking any action],” Lin said.
Lien Chan’s office spokesperson Ting Yuan-chao (丁遠超) yesterday said that according to Lien, he was just being prudent in taking down a transcript of the speech verbatim because he wanted to show — in a polite response to Ma’s request that he preview the speech — that he took the matter seriously.
Ting called on Su to clarify what “worry” had made him fearful to “think more,” instead of allowing the calumny against Lien to go viral.
Also asking for Su’s clarification was former DPP chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), who said: “Su Chi is a person [who once held high position in the government] and has inked a paragraph that is at simultaneously vague and clear. This is serious stuff — Su [Chi] and Lien should straighten it out.”
Su Chi did not answer a telephone call from the Taipei Times and his assistant said he would not respond or comment on any remarks about the implications made in his book — including the call for clarification issued by Lien’s office — during the election period, saying that the hype about the paragraph is part of the election campaign.
In other news, former National Security Council deputy secretary-general Chang Jung-feng (張榮豐) on Sunday criticized what he called former premier Hau Pei-tsun’s (郝柏村) attempt to frame the Taipei mayoral election into one that pits “the Republic of China (ROC)” against “Taiwanese independence.”
“‘ROC’ is a totem manipulated by a small group of powerful people in the ruling class to mobilize the fight against ‘Taiwanese independence,’” Chang said on Facebook. “And when the door opened up for cross-strait exchanges, ‘anti-Taiwanese independence’ has again become useful when dealing with the ROC’s former archenemy, the Chinese communists. These wealthy and powerful compradors could, by upholding the banner of anti-Taiwanese independence, gain economic benefits in exchange.”
“And what has come to the ‘ROC’? Take a look at what Su Chi recently revealed,” Chang wrote.
Although Su Chi did not spell it out, “anyone with an average IQ would suspect that Lien had leaked the speech’s content to Beijing,” he wrote.
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
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
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS