20050517

All intelligence officials soon to face lie detectors

By Rich Chang

STAFF REPORTER

All intelligence officials will be subjected to polygraph tests in future in a bid to root out spies, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced yesterday.

Legislators said they support the ministry's policy, but that they hoped the ministry would take human rights into consideration when implementing the tests.

"Officials of the Military Intelligence Bureau, the military's electronic information department, the ministry's security unit and the National Security Bureau will randomly undergo psychological and polygraph tests on a regular basis," Deputy Minister of National Defense Michael Tsai told legislators yesterday.

In the most recent case of espionage, Major Chuang Poh-hsing, a former official in the ministry's electronic information department, had on six occasions downloaded secrets form the ministry's computers and passed them on to China, Tsai said.

"I would like to apologize for the espionage on behalf of the ministry," Tsai said.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Shuai Hua-min, a former head of the National Defense Management College, said he supports the polygraph policy, but that the ministry should conduct the tests properly.

Shuai said the ministry should pay more attention to intelligence officials who are soon to retire, as experience has shown that these officials are more likely to sell secrets to China.

People First Party (PFP) Legislator Nelson Ku, a former chief of the navy, said the US has expressed concern about whether Taiwan's military would be able to effectively control military secrets if it were to share more intelligence with Taipei.

According to news reports, Ku said, the US decided not to sell destroyers equipped with AEGIS defense systems to Taiwan because of concern that it would not be able to adequately safeguard the related military secrets.

He said the US and other countries would not enhance military exchanges with Taiwan until intelligence control has been tightened.

Ku said it was ridiculous that the MND had allowed military officials such as Chuang to download information from the ministry's computers so easily.

The ministry should have developed technology to prevent officials from taking information out of the office, he said.

Tsai said the documents Chuang had leaked did not contain any sensitive information.

However, PFP Legislator Lin Yu-fang said Chuang was in charge of taking records for the department's intelligence meetings, and consequently would have had access to at least some secrets.

Liu said he suspects that Chuang had leaked more secrets to China than the ministry claims.

Taiwanese support WHO bid in Geneva

STREET APPEAL: Hundreds of Taiwanese converged on the Swiss city to lobby for the ninth year for support for Taiwan's observership in the world health body

By Melody Chen

STAFF REPORTER

Nearly three hundred Taiwanese from all over the world gathered in Geneva on Sunday to support Taiwan's 9th bid to join the World Health Organization (WHO), while Taiwanese officials made their last request for Beijing to relent in its opposition to Taipei's participation in the health body.

"We have so many people campaigning for our health bid this year. They all paid for their trips to Geneva out of their own pockets," said Lin Shih-chia, executive director of the Foundation of Medical Professionals Alliance in Taiwan, a Taiwanese NGO (non-governmental organization) that has been at the forefront of pushing for the country's entrance into the WHO since 1995.

Wearing green T-shirts printed with the slogan "Taiwan for WHO," groups of Taiwanese people stood on the sidewalks around Lake Geneva on Sunday afternoon distributing pamphlets and holding banners appealing for support for Taiwan's efforts to join the WHO.

"[WHO] says yes to Taiwan," read one of the banners. "WHO cares for Taiwan?" asked the other.

Members of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and doctors and nurses from Tainan's Sin Lau Hospital, the oldest hospital in the country, were among those traveling to Geneva for Taiwan's health bid. They sang songs and danced to call for people's support for Taiwan.

Tsuang Ming-sion, superintendent of Sin Lau Hospital, said many more of his hospital staff wanted to join the activities in Geneva but could not come because he could only bring 26 people. The doctors and nurses, all in white, sang hymns and Taiwanese folk songs.

As a crowd watched the Taiwanese groups dancing and singing, a police car pulled over and several Swiss policemen came out to demand that the performers stop what they were doing in ten minutes.

"They have to apply to the police for a permit ... This is the law," said one Swiss policeman, as one foundation member explained to him that the Taiwanese were only signing and dancing.

The Taiwanese campaigners wrapped up their activities shortly after the police arrived.

Meanwhile, Taiwanese officials, including Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Kau and Minister of Health Hou Sheng-mou, called a press conference on Sunday afternoon requesting that China be sincere about its promise to help Taiwan enter the WHO.

Concerned about China's intention in signing a memorandum of understanding with the WHO Secretariat facilitating technical exchanges between Taiwan and the WHO, Kau questioned why China and the WHO Secretariat needed to keep the document's details secret.

Taiwan is treated as part of China in the memorandum, according to Taiwanese diplomats' understanding of the situation.

"Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong should come to Geneva to see how China oppresses the Taiwanese people," said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yeh Yi-jin.

Beijing promised Lien and Soong to help Taiwan participate in the WHO when they visited China. After failing to honor those commitments, Beijing's political manipulation to block Taiwan's application for WHO observership in Geneva has angered many Taiwanese campaigners, said foundation president Wu Shuh-min.

"China should act like a big country rather than constantly bullying a small nation like Taiwan," Wu said.

In the past few days, President Chen Shui-bian (A-bian) pulled out the big guns firing at Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan, People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong and former president Lee Tung-hui. All polls and anecdotal evidence said that his approval rating is at an all time low and that he now has no friends except his core supporters.

A major reason that led to his current aberration is the attempt to pump up voter enthusiasm for last Saturday's election to deal with the out-dated Constitution.

But recall that he said recently that a new constitution and the name change are nothing but lying and self-delusion. How is he going to convince people the situation has changed? More importantly, we should ask two questions:

One, how did he get into this mess to begin with? Two, is there a possibility that he can fight his way out?

The answer to question two is yes, but that answer rests on a careful analysis of the following:

Prior to Lien's trip to China, A-bian was very harsh and indeed threatened to investigate the China trip by one of the KMT's vice-chairmen, with possible charge for being a traitor to national interest. But A-bian changed his position to endorse Lien's trip and the flip-flop enraged independence fundamentalists. Then A-bian flip-flopped again to criticize Lien and Soong and in doing so blasted Lee to show that he is the president and that he is on top of the national matters.

The double flip-flop will cost him credibility. But why did he change his position to endorse Lien's trip in the first place?

The answer is simple: US President George W. Bush endorsed Lien's trip and wanted direct communication between A-bian and Chinese President Hu Jintao. This is the source of all later problems.

A-bian is under tremendous pressure from the Bush administration which claims that Taiwan is part of China and denounced the new constitution/name-change idea during last year's legislative elections. This was why A-bian said the idea of a new constitution/name-change are nothing but lying and self-cheating one month after promoting the idea with full force during last year's elections. What else can he say when the Bush administration claims that Taiwan is part of China and that Taiwan is not a sovereign country?

Poor A-bian, who has been bent by the pressure and is now totally out of shape. Poor A-bian who has a rope on his throat, which the Bush administration is holding and manipulating.

This is my answer to question one. This answer paves the way to deal with question two. In short, what A-bian has to do is to re-gain the fighting spirit he had when he was mayor of Taipei. At that time, he was firm on his beliefs and on his principles. He was under tremendous pressure from all kinds of special-interest groups but he insisted on doing the right thing. He gained the people's respect and political capital. This was crucial to his first presidential victory.

A-bian has faltered and flip-flopped under pressure from the US. But he still has three years to reclaim his position in history. What he has to do is:

One, stand firm on Taiwan's sovereignty. Two, stand firm on domestic reforms including banking, finance, agriculture and others that he promised. Three, if pan-blue legislators boycott his reforms, he has the constitutional authority to disband the legislature. Given the current mess, he really has nothing to lose but to do the right thing.

Standing firm on Taiwan's sovereignty, is harder to do, given that the Bush administration claims that Taiwan is not a sovereign country and that Taiwan is part of China. But these are old claims.

More than 75 percent of Americans now believe that Taiwanese have the right to declare independence, according to a poll by Zogby International published on April 6.

About 52 percent of US Congressional staffers support the idea of the US defending Taiwan (only 19 percent reject it) when asked if the US should intervene if a declaration of independence by Taiwan led to hostilities with China (the same Zogby poll).

Again, the threat from the Bush administration that the US does not have an obligation to protect Taiwan is a minority position in Congress.

Bush himself said very clearly that it is the policy of the US to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture (Bush Freedom Speech, http://www.whitehouse.gov/inaugural/index.html).

Most importantly, 85 percent of people in Taiwan reject any form of unification with China (World Daily, March 25, 2005; Overseas DPP Newsletter, April 2005, p age 50).

In short, the fate of Taiwan rests on the will of its people. Nobody else has the right to determine their future. Not the Bush administration, and certainly not China.

When George Washington was leading the war of independence, the majority of the people (60 to 70 percent) were not enthusiastic about the war, and only 10 percent really wanted to fight. The situation in Taiwan is a lot better. With 85 percent of people rejecting China and 30 percent of the people hard-core independence deep-green supporters, A-bian should be able to lead Taiwan to become a truly sovereign country.

I'm writing in response to the appalling disaster at Baishawan Beach this past weekend -- the drowning of four young people on Sunday.

It was only the previous weekend that I was enjoying my first visit to this lovely stretch of sand, just a short distance from Taipei. As I walked along the shore on that beautiful sunny afternoon, I was pleasantly surprised to see a beach full of people enjoying the lovely day. I barely took notice of the lone empty lifeguard chair. It was then that friends told me that only two weeks before, a young man drowned on that beach. Apparently, this stretch of water is known for its occasional dangerous tides and currents. And sadly, its frequent drownings.

This is an open letter to those people who are in a position to make a difference. Please, use whatever resources you have at your disposal and see to it that somebody is guarding these beaches.

In countries that have a long history of recreational swimming and swimming education, you will see the beaches fully staffed and protected by trained lifeguards. Anything less would be considered irresponsible.

Teaching an entire nation to swim may take a generation. Taiwan cannot wait any longer. Since it is clear that small beach communities lack the resources and are incapable or unwilling to provide even the minimum lifeguard services for their beaches, something else has to be done.

Perhaps the national government can step in and make this a priority. Let's forget about pandas for a moment or the latest tabloid scandal and focus on something that we can do to make an immediate difference. I would suggest that a handful of military conscripts could volunteer to be trained as lifeguards. They could then be sent out on the weekends to protect the beaches. This certainly would be cost effective and it would take the pressure off of small communities.

No beach can be made 100 percent safe even for strong swimmers. However, an active beach patrol with trained lifeguards would make tragedies, like the one this past weekend, rare events.

Now that the two opposition parties have concluded their China sojourns it is time for the people of Taiwan to sit back and look at what these two trips have actually achieved, and analyze what results a potential peace or bridge-building deal with China would mean for Taiwan's future.

After selling their souls to the devil for some much-needed publicity, it seems that all that the pan-blue camp's leaders can promise is something the people already have, and the only thing by which the Chinese Communist Party holds onto power is economic prosperity. What else could a future agreement offer the good people of this country?

From the speeches and communiques issued by Lien and Soong, it seems that under a future pan-blue deal with China, anyone who supports Taiwanese independence can expect to be thrown into jail, or at the very least have their efforts disrupted by the state.

What a step forward -- the return of political prisoners. And as China and Taiwan's democracy received equal amounts of praise and scorn respectively from one of its distinguished guests, then it can be assumed that under any future pact Taiwanese can also look forward to sham elections, where crude restriction tactics are used against anyone opposing the ruling party, and in which non-ruling party winners are not allowed to assume their positions.

Sounds all too familiar, doesn't it? It would be like the return of the tangwai (outside the party) days. It seems that as the pan-blues cannot get the results they desire from a democratic system and so their answer is to revert to a system where they can guarantee their own political futures at the expense of the freedom of Taiwan's population. Another winning option -- the return of the White Terror era.

In fact, the only good thing to have come from these two pitiable propaganda trips is that the Taiwanese people have finally had a chance to see what kind of future lies in store for them if they should ever re-elect a pan-blue government.

Hopefully enough damage has been done to ensure that this will never happen, and that Taiwan's future will be as an independent state, and not as the 23rd province of China.

It is about 12 years ago now that I attended an art class with some kids from Taiwan at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California. I liked them, but what struck me the most in my interactions with them was a latent discomfort over whether we, here in the US, would be there for them if the going got tough with the Chinese. I think we have had a president in George W. Bush who has indicated we will be.

Nevertheless, it pains me to hear of stories coming out of Taiwan of rapprochement with the government in Beijing. What is a win-win outcome that allows a dictatorship in Beijing to perpetuate itself?

The Taiwanese have the right to choose their own course, but if they choose to sell their souls to Beijing with such offers as reduced tuition and whatever other inducements that a totalitarian government could make to them, over being a free people able to chart their own course, then my obligation to the Taiwanese, as an American, will be deemed paid in full.

To those kids back in Orange County, my statement is, "We will have done what we could, but good or bad the people of Taiwan will get the sort of government they deserve, if the Chinese thing is the choice they choose to make.