Liu Kuan-chun (劉冠軍), the runaway former National Security Bureau (NSB) official, is hiding in North America, not in China, DPP lawmaker Chang Ching-fang (張清芳) said at a press conference yesterday.
Chang said that he has Liu's address and has given the information to the NSB as well as the Bureau of Investigation so they can arrest him in the near future. "Agents are preparing to arrest him," he said.
Chang also said he did not understand why Liu is rumored to be in China.
"This rumor has damaged our intelligence system and has endangered our secret service agents who are currently working in Ch-ina," said Chang. "The main reason for today's press conference is to dispel this rumor and tell our secret service agents to relax because they were not exposed at all. However, we need to catch Liu and bring him back to Taiwan as soon as possible."
In addition, Li Wei-yi (
Asked where Liu is staying, Chang said that he has to keep Liu's location secret to prevent Liu from changing his residence.
However, a Chinese-language newspaper quoted anonymous sources on March 28 as saying that Liu was hiding in Canada and was being watched by NSB agents. Liu has allegedly chosen to hide in Canada because he has a brother living there.
"Our information is pretty reliable," Chang added. "He was seen by some overseas Taiwanese who are living there. I mean, not many people saw him, but his location was spotted, identified, and confirmed by reliable sources. I think it shouldn't be a problem for our investigators to catch him in the near future."
Liu, the former NSB chief cashier, is wanted for his alleged embezzlement of over NT$192 million from Taiwan's secret funds for national security. Chang said that Liu fled overseas and left for Xiamen (廈門), China, on Sept. 3, 2000, and then arrived in Shanghai on the same day. He later fled to Bangkok in January last year, and showed up in a west coast city in North America a few days after he appeared in Bangkok. Reliable sources say that Liu is still in Canada.
"We have no idea how he fled from Taiwan to North America," Chang said. "At this moment, we believe that he used a fake Taiwan passport, but we do not know how he got it. However, since his visa has expired, he can no longer legally enter a third country. That will help investigators arrest him, too."
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS