National Security Bureau (NSB) yesterday denied it ordered a female agent to get involved in an extramarital affair with New Party Taipei City Councilor Chen Yen-po (陳彥伯).
The alleged affair has caused furor in social and political circles after photographs of Chen kissing and embracing the agent, Huang Ching-lin (黃敬琳), during trips in September.
Chen and Huang are married and their alleged affair drew public attention after she was revealed to be working for the bureau.
Photo: Kuo Yi, Taipei Times
Chen, a former media personality, admitted to having an affair and told reporters that he was the one who took the initiative to first ask Huang for a date.
He is married to former journalist Wang Chun-yi (汪純怡), who has stood by her husband since rumors of his relationship with Huang emerged.
The allegations about the affair and the reassignment of Huang to another bureau post has led to speculation about a power struggle inside the bureau.
The scandal yesterday took a new twist when Control Yuan member Kao Feng-hsien (高鳳仙) confirmed that she had received a letter from a relative of Huang’s requesting that an investigation be conducted in to clear Huang’s name.
According to the letter, Huang’s superior had instructed her to engage in a romantic relationship with Chen to extract information, but after the affair was exposed, the bureau washed its hands of any involvement, damaging Huang’s career and ruining her marriage, Kao said.
Bureau officials denied the letterwriter’s allegations, saying they did not assigned Huang to conduct such a mission and her job as a liaison officer at the Taipei City Council was only for routine communication with councilors.
“This matter belongs within Huang’s private life. However, it damaged the bureau’s reputation and therefore she received a disciplinary punishment in accordance with internal regulations. There was no infighting, nor power struggle arising from this matter as reported by the media,” the bureau said in a statement.
Chen refused to comment on the matter when he was questioned by reporters yesterday.
The allegations of the bureau using an agent to approach a politician led to online questioning and debates, with most netizens siding with the bureau’s explanation.
Some people said that they do not believe the bureau would use a “honey trap” or ask a female agent to seduce a male politician since it could easily obtain information through electronic surveillance.
Others said that Chen is a minor figure in Taipei political circles and had little value as a target of an intelligence gathering operation.
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