Fri, Apr 22, 2005 page3

• DPP blasts security guard plan

  PROTECTION Although former vice presidents are legally allowed to have government security personnel protect them, pan-green lawmakers say Lien Chan doesn't need them

  • By Ko Shu-ling / STAFF REPORTER
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  Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday called on the government to reject Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) application to have armed government security personnel accompany him during his upcoming trip to China.

  If the application is approved, it would be the first time government security personnel were sent to China to protect a former vice president.

  DPP Legislator Chen Tsiao-long (陳朝龍) told reporters that Lien owes the public an explanation about the capacity in which he will make the trip.

  "He first said that he will go there as a civilian, so he does not need to report to authorities. He then said that he will go there as the KMT chairman. I am very curious to know as to why he now needs the protection of armed security guards, if he goes there as a civilian," he said.

  Claiming that the timing of Lien's visit is wrong, DPP Legislator Kuo Jung-chung (郭榮宗) said that government agencies concerned should stringently examine Lien's application for the deployment of security guards for his planned visit.

  "Unless Lien claims that he is traveling as a former vice president of the Republic of China, he is not eligible for the protection of government security personnel," he said.

  According to the Act Governing Relations Between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例), certain people must obtain permission from the authorities before visiting China.

  They include government security personnel, secret agents, law enforcement officers and soldiers.

  Despite lawmakers' complaints, executive officer of the National Security Bureau's Special Operations Center, Hsu Li-meng (許立孟), said that his center is obliged to offer security for former presidents and vice presidents in accordance with the law if their application is approved.

  Hsu said that Lien's security office has already filed the application. A review committee, formed by the National Security Bureau, the Ministry of Justice and Mainland Affairs Council, is scrutinizing the application.

  DPP Legislator Tu Wen-ching (杜文卿) voiced his concern over the safety of security personnel, saying that Lien is putting their lives at risk, because the Chinese Communist Party is an irrational regime that puts people behind bars without any reason.

  Meanwhile, the TSU legislative caucus yesterday asked Lien and his People First Party (PFP) counterpart James Soong (宋楚瑜) to bring the TSU's version of the "four noes" to China while conducting talks with Chinese authorities during their visits.

  They are: no military intimidation against Taiwan, no suppression of Taiwan's diplomatic space, no "Anti-Secession" Law, no missiles targeted at Taiwan and no "1992 consensus."

  The caucus also vowed to mobilize pro-independence groups to prevent Lien and Soong from leaving for China.

  TSU Legislator David Huang (黃適卓) asked Lien and Soong to sign an affidavit and to promise that they do not recognize the "1992 consensus."

  He also requested that the Executive Yuan beef up efforts to investigate whether KMT Vice Chairman and lawmaker Chiang Pin-kun (江丙坤) violated the penal code or the Act Governing Relations Between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area following his trip to China.

  The caucus will also file a motion during next Tuesday's plenary legislative session, asking the legislature to issue a resolution requesting that the Executive Yuan ban political leaders and retired government officials from visiting China.
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