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Hsieh camp threatens suit over spying claims

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) camp yesterday threatened legal action against claims that Hsieh had provided intelligence about the democracy movement to the intelligence chief during the Martial Law era.

Hsieh yesterday did not respond to the allegation directly, but said he could not respond to every groundless accusation because it would be a waste of his time and energy.

Hsieh said the Chinese-language Next magazine had claimed he was involved in "Operation Kuanghua," but after checking out the dates, he found he was only 16 years old at the time.

The operation was actually a government surveillance project on the nation's first Olympic medalist, Yang Chuan-kuang (楊傳廣), and former Olympic medalist Chi Cheng (紀政), he said.

The magazine also alleged that Hsieh had secretly informed on fellow democracy activists during the 1980s.

Hsieh said he was asked by the Investigation Bureau to serve as an unpaid consultant for an advisory commission to crack down on graft and corruption.

The 12 commission members included former Judicial Yuan vice president Cheng Chung-mo (城仲模), former grand justice Yang Chien-Hua (楊建華), and prominent legal experts such as Huan Tong-shong (黃東熊) and Tsai Tun-ming (蔡墩銘), he said.

The latest accusation, which appeared in yesterday's issue of the magazine, claimed that Hsieh was involved in "Operation Chunyuan," in which Hsieh reported directly to Hsieh Yu-nan (謝育男), a section chief in the Control Yuan's Department of Assets who worked as an agent at the Taipei Office of the Investigation Bureau in the 1980s.

Before the DPP was established, the report said Hsieh Yu-nan formed a task force under the bureau's Taipei office and Hsieh Yu-nan served as the go-between for Hsieh and the bureau.

"I do not know what to say if other people want to dance to its tune," Frank Hsieh said.

Shen Fa-hui (沈發惠), a Hsieh camp spokesman, said yesterday that nobody could verify the magazine's claim because the people involved in the case had either passed away or had denied any connection with the operation.

"It is immoral to base their accusation on one man's claim," Shen said.

"The media would become the accomplice of the former authoritarian regime if they continue such practices," Shen said.

Hsieh Hsin-ni (謝欣霓), another Hsieh spokesperson, questioned the credibility of the magazine, saying the spate of groundless accusations was an overt attempt to smear Hsieh's name and boost his election rival Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) presidential chances.

Calling for an end to the smear campaign, Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦), another Hsieh camp spokesman, urged the media to check their stories to ensure balance reporting.

He said they did not rule out taking legal action against the accuser and the media for failing to substantiate their claims and correct erroneous reports.

"Such slander is irresponsible and mean," he said.

Meanwhile, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday urged accusers to provide proof to substantiate their claims.

She also called on Ma to tell the public whether he had spied on democracy activists for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime when he was studying in the US.
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