National Security Bureau disavows spying operation

The National Security Bureau categorically denied yesterday that it had carried out a plan to spy on opposition legislators considered by those who seek to split Taiwan along ethnic lines as not being of mainland Chinese descent.

Tsai Chao-ming (蔡朝明), the bureau's director, said that the bureau "had not carried out" such a project, nor had he heard of such an idea.

Tsai was responding to questions by Legislator Lee Chia-chin (李嘉進) of the KMT who said in a legislative committee that he was informed that under the so-called "eagle-hunting project," the bureau had, since February, been tapping phones and conducting personal investigations of opposition legislators who support the KMT or the opposition PFP despite being considered "native Taiwanese."

"There is absolutely no investigation of this kind," Tsai said, adding that were such a project to exist, legislators with real evidence should make this available for the bureau to carry out a "responsible investigation."

Bureau Deputy Director Huang Lei (黃磊) also denied the existence of such a plan, stressing that since the passage of the law organizing the bureau in 1994, the bureau has not spied on legislators.

On whether the bureau had checked the bank accounts of certain legislators and collected other information on them, Huang said that it could have happened.

He said that if in fact such checks had been carried out, it would have been because the bureau had obtained evidence to make such investigations necessary.

"The bureau will collect information, but of course does not have the right of judicial investigation.

"Our information will be passed to those who can legally act on the matter," Huang said.

Legislator Lee Chuan-chiao (李全教) of the KMT alleged in a news conference that the ruling DPP had instructed the intelligence-gathering arm of the government to form the "eagle-hunting" task force to collect information on eight KMT and PFP legislators, and that he himself was the "top target."

Lee said that under the project, the bureau had tapped telephones, monitored bank accounts and kept tabs on the social circles of the eight legislators to be used as ammunition for future attacks during the 2004 presidential election campaign.

Lee said that the DPP has sensed that its voter support in central and southern Taiwan -- traditionally the stronghold of the DPP -- has begun to cave in. In addition, pro-KMT legislators have appealed to voters in central and southern Taiwan on TV call-in programs, so that the DPP has had to use a two-pronged strategy of trying to solicit the legislators to cooperate on the one hand and trying to smear them on the other if they refuse to cooperate.

According to Lee, since the KMT legislative caucus exposed a multi-billion dollar land development project scandal in Kaohsiung involving many DPP players, the DPP has sought revenge.

He alleged that seven KMT legislators and one PFP legislator are on the surveillance list.

Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), executive director of the KMT's Central Policy Committee, and Cheng Feng-shih (鄭逢時), deputy executive director, are also targeted, he added.

The Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau Deputy Director-General Cheng Ming-shun Wednesday said he would resign if the bureau hired any legislative aides to keep tabs on their bosses as part of a political-surveillance operation.