Mon, Jul 03, 2000 page1

• NSB denies political in-fighting

  PERSONAL QUARRELS A source at the NSB has suggested the controversy over Pan Hsi-hsien's visit to China was originally to do with a covered-up drunk driving case

  • By Brian Hsu / STAFF REPORTER
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  The National Security Bureau (NSB) has denied a controversial visit to China by a recently retired official has anything to do with political in-fighting.

  However, a bureau source told the Taipei Times yesterday that the trip may have been made to put the heat on the head of the bureau.

  "At the beginning it was about money and a personal feud, but now it has turned into a power struggle against [NSB Director-General] Ting Yu-chou (丁渝洲)," the source said.

  The incident was supposed to be publicized from the very beginning and now it is being twisted by politicians of different factions for their own ends, the official said.

  "The whole thing can be traced back to an incident which happened before Major General Pan Hsi-hsien (潘希賢), then chief of the personnel department with the NSB, retired on June 1," he said.

  Pan was detained last Thursday by Chinese security agents in Guangdong Province and has yet to be released. Pan left for China on June 4, only three days after his retirement, in violation of security regulations.

  Before Pan's retirement, he and Ting were apparently at odds with one another because of an incident that occurred a couple of months before. Pan was pulled over by police in Taipei one evening on suspicion of drunk driving. He was said to have been drinking heavily with friends at a night spot before being stopped.

  Trying to not to disclose his identity, Pan did not tell police that he was an official with the NSB.

  The incident, however, was discovered by Ting, who is known for demanding strict discipline from his staff.

  While it is still unclear whether the two events were directly connected, Pan chose to file for early retirement on June 1.

  Pan was meant to retire in six months time, at the beginning of next year.

  "Forced to retire early, Pan lost six months salary and his entitlement to a better retirement package," the official said.

  "Ting was apparently the only one at the NSB who did not know Pan planned to go to China after his retirement. Many of those who knew of the matter covered it up for Pan either out of sympathy for him or out of concern for his personal safety," he added.

  "We don't think Pan is in danger in the hands of Chinese security agents. If the Chinese authorities want to do something to Pan, they would have done it the moment he entered China. Pan was a high-ranking official at the NSB and Chinese intelligence agents did not need to know who and where Pan was by reading news reports from Taiwan," the source said.

  "We think Pan will be released by the Chinese authorities. But does he dare to come back? He will surely be interrogated [by his former colleagues] after he returns to Taiwan. He is 58 now. It will just be too painful for a man of his age," the source said.

  Pan's controversial visit to China has also invited attempts by politicians of different factions to exploit the incident for political gain. Their ultimate aim is to remove Ting from his post, the source said.

  "We don't think Ting will step down because of this incident. Ting can survive the crisis by duly disciplining those staff members who were directly responsible for letting the breach of security happen."
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