China was behind Singapore’s decision to deny entry to Veterans Affairs Council (VAC) Director Lee Shying-jow (李翔宙), the council said yesterday.
Lee, who visited Thailand earlier this month, planned a stopover in Singapore to visit veterans of Taiwan’s armed forces residing in Singapore, but he was denied entry to the city-state despite a tacit agreement that the visit had been approved.
Lee’s status — he has served as deputy minister of national defense, an army commander, director-general of the National Security Bureau and as a senior presidential adviser — reportedly prompted concern.
Photo: CNA
VAC Deputy Director Lee Wen-chung (李文忠) yesterday attributed the incident to China’s interference during a question-and-answer session at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.
“[Lee Shying-jow’s planned visit to Singapore was aborted] likely due to Chinese Communist Party interference,” Lee Wen-chung said. “Relations between Singapore and China are tense, so Singapore does not want to create more trouble.”
There has never been a visit by a VAC director to Singapore, Lee Wen-chung said, adding that most of the council’s foreign visits are to the US, where a majority of the overseas veterans’ clubs founded by the council are located.
Lee Shying-jow’s visit to Thailand was to pay his respects and present a commendation to the family of Sung Ching-yun (宋慶雲), a Taiwanese agricultural expert who helped farmers in northern Thailand phase out poppy cultivation and transition to other economically viable crops, Lee Wen-chung said.
In related news, Lee Wen-chung said eight retired military officials, including former army commander-in-chief Cheng Ting-chung (陳廷寵), are to visit China on Thursday next week to attend a “cultural event.”
While the nominal event organizer is a private calligraphy business, the “actual event organizer is usually the Taiwan Affairs Office and relevant agencies,” Lee Wen-chung said.
The council has contacted the retired officials and warned them against making any political comments or doing interviews, he said.
“There is no regulation that stops former military officials visiting China [once a three-year travel restriction expires]. The government could consider imposing a longer travel ban on retired military officials,” he said, adding that key personnel who have had access to highly sensitive information should be placed under a screening mechanism on a permanent basis.
National Security Bureau Third Division Director Lai Yun-cheng (賴蘊誠) said that several of the retired military officials have canceled the visit due to the negative public perception of the trip.
The attendance of retired lieutenant general Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷) and former generals Wang Wen-hsieh (王文燮) and Hsia Ying-chou (夏瀛洲) at an event in Beijing chaired by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) last month provoked a public outcry and raised concern over national security, with legislators proposing imposing stricter travel restrictions and disciplinary measures on retired military officials.
TAIWAN PROTECTION MEASURE: US Army General Charles Flynn would not say where in the Asia-Pacific the missiles would be sent, but only that they would arrive in 2024 The US is to send medium-range missiles including the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) and Tomahawk to the Asia-Pacific next year to deter a Chinese attack on Taiwan, US military news Web site Defense One reported. The report cited comments US Army General Charles Flynn made during the annual Halifax International Security Forum on Nov. 19. “We have tested them and we have a battery or two of them today,” Flynn was quoted as saying. “In [20]24. We intend to deploy that system in your region. I’m not going to say where and when. But I will just say that we will
LOYALTY: The 10 active and retired soldiers betrayed the nation and its people by leaking and passing on military secrets to China, the High Prosecutors’ Office said Ten former and current military officers were yesterday indicted on charges of spying for China, including two who allegedly filmed themselves pledging loyalty to Beijing. The High Prosecutors’ Office requested life imprisonment for the suspects in light of the severity of the crime. The 10 active-duty and retired officers included members of the 601st Brigade of the Aviation Special Forces comprising attack helicopter squadrons and elite combat units in charge of defending northern Taiwan, including Taipei. The other suspects came from Huadong Defense Command, in charge of defending the eastern coast; Kinmen Defense Command, in charge of defending Kinmen and Matsu; and one
NO FREE LUNCH: Taiwanese joining the trips to China met TAO and United Front Work officials who urged them to vote for candidates who support closer ties with Beijing The Ciaotou Prosecutors’ Office in Kaohsiung yesterday released two suspects on bail who have been accused of recruiting Taiwanese to join tours to China funded by Beijing and in which they were urged to vote for pan-blue candidates in January’s presidential and legislative elections. The pan-blue camp generally refers to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the People First Party, the New Party and the Young China Party, which support closer relations with China. Prosecutors said that a man, surnamed Cheng (鄭), and a woman, surnamed Yeh (葉), who are members of the China Pan-Blue Association, recruited Taiwanese tourists to join tours arranged
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday slammed a proposal by New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, to permit a “significant number” of Chinese students to study and work in Taiwan, saying it would be detrimental to young Taiwanese. At an event on Monday hosted by nine major industrial and business groups, Hou said that if elected, he would reinitiate cross-strait dialogue on the premise that Taiwan’s dignity would not be compromised and that the talks would be held in good faith. The talks would include lifting a ban on Chinese tour groups and
RSS