An investigation into New Party Youth Corps members was launched because Wang Ping-chung (王炳忠) is suspected of attempting to create a paramilitary organization to destabilize Taiwan with financial backing from China, political and national security experts said yesterday.
Media personality and political pundit Clara Chou (周玉蔻) made the allegation during a talk show on Thursday, saying she had information that one of Wang’s family members recently received NT$5 million (US$166,845) in a bank account and she believes that the money came from China.
The New Party, through Wang and his colleagues’ efforts, “has established a paramilitary organization in Taiwan, which was set up on behalf of the Chinese government. The members would be receiving military training. Its purpose is to spring into action in the event of a conflict between Taiwan and China,” Chou said.
“All the information points to Wang and his New Party colleagues having contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法). They are being investigated because reports indicated they were developing networks and organizations in Taiwan under the guidance of the Chinese Communist Party,” she said.
National security expert and retired army colonel Tseng Miao-hung (曾淼泓) concurred with Chou’s information, saying that top-level intelligence reports indicate that China has been active in establishing paramilitary organizations and political warfare units, and offering financial backing to unification parties in Taiwan.
“The judiciary and law enforcement agencies must work together to uncover the extent of the recruitment and penetration into Taiwanese government and military agencies, and uproot them. The New Party’s paramilitary organization is only one of China’s proxies that forms part of their ‘united front’ works against Taiwan,” said Tseng, who specializes in military intelligence and warfare information, and formerly headed National Defense University’s computer center.
“China’s proxy groups in Taiwan receive regular funding through indirect channels and some have been trained by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army [PLA] to conduct unification political campaigns and espionage, recruit government and military officials, and entice them to pass on classified information,” he said.
“China’s paramilitary organizations, or ‘fifth column troops,’ are concealed as ‘sleeper cells’ conducting underground activities most of the time, but when military conflict arises, such as China trying to invade Taiwan, then these organizations and personnel are expected to spring into action in coordination with the PLA,” Tseng said. “Their mission is to carry out advanced strikes, such as destroying or disabling Taiwan’s telecommunication lines, power plants, main transportation routes and bridges, as well as other vital infrastructure.”
DPP Legislator Wang Ding-yu (王定宇) talked about the case on the talk show with Chou, saying prosecutors must have had sufficient evidence against New Party members to be able to carry out Tuesday’s arrests.
The behind-the-scenes work has been going on for more than one year and the investigation was focused on national security breaches, he said.
“From what I have gathered, they contravened Article 2-1 of the National Security Act, which prohibits the collection and delivery of confidential documents, images or information, or developing an organization for China or for another foreign country,” he said.
At a news conference in Taipei yesterday, Wang Ping-chung downplayed Chou’s allegations.
“I do not know what her source of information is. Prosecutors did not present any information about this,” Wang said.
Separately yesterday, Minister of Justice Chiu Tai-san (邱太三), when asked if he knew about Chou’s allegations, said: “No, I have no information and cannot comment on any individual case.”
Additional reporting by Stacy Hsu
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
RSS