Tue, Feb 10, 2004 page4

• China claims two more Taiwan `spies' in custody

  MORE OF THE SAME The arrests were splashed across a Communist Party-mouthpiece tabloid and were called the biggest bust of a Taiwanese spy network since 1999

  • REUTERS
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  China said yesterday it had caught two more spies acting for Taiwan, publicizing the arrests in another apparent attempt to discredit President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) ahead of elections next month.

  The Global Times, a tabloid owned by the People's Daily, mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, splashed front-page pictures of Lee Yun-pu (李運溥) and his travel document, calling him a spy for Taiwan.

  Lee, 42, who the newspaper said was a colonel with the Military Intelligence Bureau, was detained in December in Nanjing, the capital of the eastern coastal province of Jiangsu.

  Gao Guoning (高國寧), a Chinese national and Lee's nephew, was arrested in the central province of Jiangxi, the tabloid added. It said Lee's spy ring had been broken after Chen made public, with pinpoint accuracy, the number of missiles in Jiangxi province aimed at Taiwan.

  "This is the biggest Taiwan spying network busted by the mainland since the Liu Liankun (劉連昆) case," the newspaper said, referring to the Chinese general who was executed in 1999 for spying.

  Lee's arrest came on the heels of China detaining 24 Taiwan "spies" in December. Seven of them were paraded in front of reporters last month in an unprecedented move.

  Taiwan's government had no immediate comment on the Global Times report. Chen's spokesman has said the missiles' location was public information.

  Beijing's revelation appeared aimed at embarrassing Chen, who has riled China and alarmed the US with plans to push ahead with the nation's first-ever referendum alongside the March 20 presidential election.

  China and the US have embarked on a flurry of diplomatic activity in an apparent bid to avoid any military conflict in the Taiwan Strait over the planned referendum, which Beijing sees as a provocative move towards independence.

  "Both sides thirst to know the other side's bottom line," said Shi Yinhong (石印紅), professor of international relations at the People's University in Beijing.

  "The Chinese government is likely worried the United States will not resolutely oppose the referendum after Chen Shui-bian toned down the wording," Shi said.

  "The US government is likely worried we will resort to very strong moves," he said.

  US Defense Undersecretary Douglas Feith is expected in Bei-jing this week, where he is likely to attend bilateral strategic defense consultations.

  Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), China's top Taiwan policymaker, visited Washington last week on the heels of Wang Zaixi (王在希), a major-general and vice minister at China's Taiwan Affairs Office, who went there last month.

  US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage visited Beijing last month and told reporters the wording of the referendum raised questions about the motives of Taiwan's government.

  General Richard Myers, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, also visited Beijing last month and told reporters the US and China understood each other on the prickly issue of Taiwan.

  But he also said that he had been firm with the Chinese authorities on US military support for Taiwan.
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