Though the Ministry of National Defense has denied recent reports of Chinese fighter planes approaching Taiwan, comments by Shi Hwei-yow (許惠佑), secretary-general of the Straits Exchange Foundation, suggest that some of those reports may have been true.
Shi on Sunday described as "accurate" recent news reports that Chinese fighters had crossed the imaginary median line of the Taiwan Strait shortly after the March 18 presidential election.
In addition, Shi said that an unidentified number of Chinese warships had also approached the median line.
Shi, who is visiting the US, made the comments in San Francisco while meeting with a Taiwanese group there.
The defense ministry refused to comment on Shi's remarks, but conceded that Shi's information was likely obtained from military sources.
"Strictly speaking, we have never denied or confirmed any occurrences that Shi alleges have taken place," said a defense ministry official, who asked not to be identified.
"Our policy toward incidents of the kind [described by Shi] is to avoid making any formal response. Our aim is to prevent any unnecessary jitters among the public."
In May, the defense ministry formally denied local media reports that Chinese fighters had crossed the median line of the Strait following the presidential election.
The media based its reports on information leaked by People First Party lawmakers, who learned of the matter during a private meeting with General Tang Yao-ming (湯曜明), chief of the general staff.
According to Shi, the approach of Chinese fighter planes and warships may have been an attempt to pressure then-president-elect Chen Shui-bian
Cross-strait tensions later eased because of Chen's friendly gestures toward Beijing during his May 20 inaugural address, Shi said.
But during the past three months, he said, China's leadership has been trying to occasionally scare Taiwan while appearing harmless on the outside.
In July, roughly eight Chinese Su-27 fighter planes flew a short distance over the median line while cruising from the southern end of the Strait to the northern end, according to intelligence sources.
In mid-August, just one day before Chen left for his half-month trip abroad, another group of Chinese warplanes -- suspected to be Jian-8s -- approached the median line before turning around.
Retired navy Captain Su Chao-wen
"I think the defense ministry knows very well what it should let the public know and what it should not," Su said.
"The key is whether the information will have negative psychological impact upon the public."
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