Spy ship off southern coast

AGENCIES AND STAFF WRITER

A Chinese survey vessel believed to be a spy ship has been found operating near Taiwan again, naval officials said yesterday.

The 2,894-tonne Xiangyanghong 14 oceanographic research ship, linked to China's National Bureau of Oceanography, was detected by the navy's radar systems at noon Wednesday in high seas near Green Island, off southeastern Taiwan, the officials said.

"The navy dispatched patrol vessels to monitor its movement and ordered related radar stations to keep close watch on the target," they said.

The same vessel intruded into Taiwan's territorial waters last November, prompting Taipei to lodge a protest with Beijing.

Its crew members claimed the ship was conducting an oceanographic survey when Taiwanese coast patrol boats tried to intercept it for inspection on Wednesday, local papers reported.

The Xiangyanghong 14 did not leave the navy's monitoring range until 2:30pm on Thursday.

Upon spotting the Xiangyanghong 14 the ROC Navy immediately dispatched two Perry-class frigates to the adjacent waters to monitor the Chinese vessel and informed the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) about the situation.

The CGA dispatched three coastal patrol vessels to shadow the research ship. Some four hours of playing cat and mouse ensued, with the Xiangyanghong 14 being chased to some 130km from Oluanpi before the CGA vessels ceased their pursuit.

During the pursuit, according to CGA officials, the Xiangyanghong 14 sent a message to the CGA vessels through an international telecommunications channel to ask the Taiwan patrol vessels to leave the area in order to avoid what it termed "accidents" from occurring.

Chinese maritime research vessels were discovered operating in waters very close to Taiwan's exclusive economic zone on more than 10 occasions last year, with some technically being incursions into Taiwan's territorial waters, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday.

Since the research vessels were not military ones and were on international research missions, the navy was not in a position to interfere, MND officials said.

They added that the best Taiwan could do was to chase them away using the civilian CGA vessels despite knowing that the vessels were on espionage missions collecting security-related maritime intelligence.

Radar stations and reconnaissance vessels have been placed on higher alert to bolster the CGA's capacity to monitor and search for suspicious craft, the MND said.

The Xiangyanghong 14 is not armed but is equipped with various antennas. It operates in the Taiwan Strait all year round.

CGA officials said they suspect that the ship has repeatedly sailed close to Orchid Island not only to conduct oceanic research but also to intercept Taiwan's communications broadcasts

Staying neutral and obeying the law

Both the ruling party and the opposition have admitted that prosecutors at the Hualien District Prosecutors' Office played a decisive role in the recent country commissioner by-election. However, the confrontation between the DPP and the prosecutors' office did not abate after the election, but has intensified day by day. Such a conflict is detrimental to the image of the ruling party and the government.

The DPP is angry with the prosecutors' office about several things. Chief Prosecutor Yang Ta-chih held a press conference to criticize the government's round-the-clock road checks that were part of its anti-vote-buying crackdown, a campaign that he called unconstitutional. Classified information on the crackdown was leaked to the media. A day before the by-election, a supporter of DPP candidate You Ying-lung was arrested on suspicion of vote-buying -- for giving away bicycles. The DPP views the arrest as a decisive factor in its election loss.

Cracking down on vote-buying is a job for prosecutors, but they should carry out their duties impartially. The Hualien prosecutor office's behavior has aroused suspicions that it was attempting to influence the election outcome.

The prosecutor office has indicted the man involved in the bicycle case. It also charged You's campaign team with vote-buying, citing You's offer to provide Aboriginal chiefs with NT$5,000 a month subsidy if he was elected. DPP's Deputy Secretary-General Lee Chin-yung was also summoned for questioning. These have confirmed the DPP's perception that the Hualien prosecutors' office was acting on behalf of the KMT against it. The DPP issued a statement refuting the Hualien prosecutors' office's claims, while Lee lodged a complaint with the Control Yuan saying that the Hualien prosecutors were violating administrative neutrality. Lee then refused to go to Hualien for questioning and went swimming instead.

The face-off between the DPP and Hualien prosecutors has damaged both the government and the ruling party and made senior officials look bad. Providing subsidies to Aboriginal chiefs is within the remit and discretion of the administration. It is outside the scope of judicial deliberation. Voters, not prosecutors or judges, decide whether or not a candidate's campaign promises are appropriate. The prosecutors have overstepped the line dividing judicial affairs and politics. No wonder Lee thinks the prosecutors were deliberately targeting the DPP.

However, as a lawyer himself, Lee should know that a citizen has the duty to show up in court when summoned. By publicly showing his contempt for judicial authorities, Lee has set a bad example, although he did relent and decide yesterday to go to Hualien for questioning. The proper way to fight injustice is to present your case at court, instead of unleashing criticism in the media. By putting up a fight outside the court, both the DPP and the judiciary would lose in the end.

Prosecutors are civil servants with a double role in both the executive and judicial branches. To safeguard judicial independence, prosecutors should be protected from outside interference in their investigations. However, judicial independence does not allows prosecutors to do whatever they want. Executive supervision and media monitoring of prosecutors are both necessary. The Hualien by-election has shown us the great impact that erratic prosecutors can have on elections. The Ministry of Justice must find ways to keep politics out of prosecutions while also stopping prosecutors from messing with politics.

China may use law to hinder Taiwan agencies

By Roger Liu

STAFF REPORTER

The PRC government may in the future apply its proposed anti-subversion law in Hong Kong to stop covert activities of Taiwan's official agencies, over which there has been a tacit agreement for decades between the governments of Hong Kong and Taiwan, a national security official said.

World attention has focused on how the anti-subversion legislation -- or the societies ordinance, imposed as an obligation by Article 23 of Hong Kong's Basic Law -- would sabotage the territory's residents' freedom of speech, especially after the public demonstrations in the city a month ago, the official said.

"But what concerns the government most is whether China would try to limit our activities in Hong Kong by applying the ordinance," he said.

Like other nations, Taiwan has a representative office in Hong Kong, under the administration of the Mainland Affairs Council and with the official name "Hong Kong Affairs Bureau".

However, because of the sensitive relationship between China and Taiwan, the bureau has been operating under the name of "Chung Hwa Travel Service Hong Kong."

"There has been a tacit agreement on this for years between Hong Kong and Taiwan, and it works very well," the official said.

However, things may change when the bill becomes law.

"The original article prohibits any connection between local Hong Kong political associations and foreign political organizations. And in the amendment, Taiwanese organizations have been included," he said.

According to the proposed ordinance, "connection" is defined as financial support, an affiliation, policy determination or control in decision-making processes.

The police or other Hong Kong government agencies may refuse or cancel the registration of a local political body, if they think it is connected to foreign organizations after consultation with the secretary for security. Officers may otherwise recommend to the security secretary that the workings of the body be prohibited, according to the proposed ordinance.

"Here comes the problem. The HKAB is not only a travel agency. It is also responsible for press releases, information gathering and it has connections with local academics and societies," the official said.

"The PRC government can prohibit our activities, which to its mind are illegal, through the Hong Kong government, by applying the ordinance," he said.

The deterrent effect of the proposed legislation would also decrease the incentives for Hong Kong residents or organizations to have contact with us, the official said, and this would affect our influence and information gathering in Hong Kong.

The other thing to worry about is the rights of tens of thousands of Taiwanese who reside in Hong Kong, the official said.

The proposed ordinance stipulates that a "Chinese national" would commit treason if he or she intends to overthrow or intimidate the central government of the PRC, or if he or she compels the PRC government to change its policies or measures. The crime is punishable by life imprisonment.

"The problem is, is a Taiwanese a Chinese national?" the official said.

"After the civil war ended in 1949, the nations on either side of the Taiwan Strait split into two political entities, according to the ROC Constitution ? it is a very thorny issue," he said.

"There are people who annually celebrate Double Ten Day in Hong Kong and in Taiwan. These persons are in danger of being arrested for supporting Taiwan," he said.

According to a weekly report by the Mainland Affairs Counsel, the government has expressed its concern to the Hong Kong government, but the latter refused to comment.