The National Security Council (NSC) yesterday filed a lawsuit against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) for slander after Chai alleged that NSC Secretary-General Su Chi (蘇起) asked the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) to provide China with maritime research on the waters around Taiwan.
Su’s lawyer, Taipei City Councilor Lai Su-ru (賴素如), filed the suit seeking NT$3 million (US$92,500) in compensation and a half-page apology in four major newspapers, at the Taipei District Court, saying the case against Chai was meant to convey the council’s firm position on its innocence.
“We are sorry to see Chai refuse to apologize or retract his allegation,” she said. “Chai’s accusation is very serious. It involves the sale of national security information and the national interest. The council cannot tolerate any politician undermining its reputation.”
Su asked Lai to issue a written request demanding Chai apologize within 24 hours and retract his allegation or face a defamation lawsuit.
The two became embroiled in a dispute last week when Chai said that according to a “reliable source,” Su had instructed an assistant to hand the data to Beijing.
Chai said Su gave the Chinese government the results of maritime research conducted by the MOI on Taiwan’s seabed and reefs, including classified information. The information was given to Beijing with Su’s assistance, Chai said.
The data would be forwarded to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as part of information submitted by China, said Chai, who said that providing Beijing with Taiwan’s oceanographic research data is a severe breach of national security and a denigration of Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Pan-green legislators said on Tuesday that they would sue President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Su for treason.
In response, Chai yesterday said he was prepared to battle Su in court and plans to counter-sue Su for false charges against him.
“When I asked MOI Minister Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) if a Taiwanese maritime expert delegation had visited China, the answer was yes. When I asked who arranged the visit, he said he did not know, but he did confirm that the data from the research project had been handed over to the NSC,” Chai said, adding that Jiang told him the information was to be given to the UN on May 20 this year.
The question, he said, was whether the UN had a copy of the data and, if so, who gave the global body the information on Taiwan when Taiwan is not eligible to provide such information itself because it is not a member.
“I will fight to the end. I will not be intimidated,” Chai said.
At a separate setting yesterday, Jiang told a legislative committee that they never handed any “basic” information about maritime research to the NSC. However, he said the council did receive regular “preliminary analysis reports” on a research project from the MOI.
Jiang said the five-year, NT$700 million (US$21.6 million) project was established by the Democratic Progressive Party (DDP) administration, which had hoped to complete it in time for the UN deadline in May. As long as Taiwan is not a UN member, Jiang said the UN would not have the information.
Chai asked Jiang whether it was correct to assume that the information came from another source if the UN did have it in its record.
Jiang said that he was not in a position to make such a deduction, which he described as “similar to a detective story.”
He also asked Chai to publish the information he was referring to and name the person who told him about it.
Jiang said the five-year research project involved three groups of people, with the first dealing with the field survey, the second with data integration and the third with administrative matters.
Jiang said the ministry had not arranged any trips for the first group of people to visit China, but he said that some did make such trips, but only to gather information.
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