20111116 Official pans claim Liu case hindered by Taiwan’s status

Official pans claim Liu case hindered by Taiwan’s status

By Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff Reporter

Democratic Progressive Party legislators Wong Chin-chu, right, and Tsai Huang-liang, at a press conference in Taipei yesterday, criticize the way the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is handling the case of Jacqueline Liu, who is being detained in the US on labor fraud charges.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times

A senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday provided clarification about a statement issued by the US Attorney’s Office and denied that a Taiwanese official facing labor fraud charges in the US was not eligible to receive diplomatic immunity because it does not regard Taiwan as a sovereign state.

Five days after Jacqueline Liu (劉姍姍), director-general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Kansas City, Missouri, was arrested by the FBI and charged with breaching the terms of agreement in a contract TECO signed with a Filipino housekeeper, it appears that Taipei has been unable to convince the US that Liu has the right to claim immunity.

In addition to an unresolved dispute about whether the case falls within the scope of Liu’s authorized functions at TECO as stipulated in the 1980 Agreement on Privileges, Exemptions and Immunities signed between the two countries, the case has gained political overtones. Media reports have said that Liu was denied immunity because the US does not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign country.

Bruce Linghu (令狐榮達), director-general of the Department of North American Affairs, yesterday said that the US Attorney’s Office has held the position that “it recognized that Liu enjoys immunity equivalent to that of consular officers” and that “it did not link the case to the country’s sovereign status.”

Linghu said the position was clearly shown in the press release issued by the Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Missouri, in which it said: “[Taiwanese officials] are generally the equivalent of a consulate of a foreign government, but the United States does not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state.”

According to Linghu, media reports, based on a report by NBC news which said that Cynthia Cordes, the prosecutor handling the case, “explained to NBC Action News that Liu was not eligible for diplomatic immunity because the United States does not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state,” were “incorrect.”

Meanwhile, ministry spokesperson James Chang (章計平) accused the FBI of “rudeness” in its handling of the case, as Liu was handcuffed when she was arrested.

Chang added that the FBI also violated due process when questioning three Taiwanese officials at TECO without letting them know in advance that they would be listed as witnesses and their testimonies were included in the affidavit in support of the FBI’s claim against Liu.