National security
in danger, report says
"The intelligence officials don't treat the Communist
Chinese as an enemy."
--Control Yuan report on violations of regulations by retired
military and intelligence officials
MISPLACED
LOYALTIES? Roughly 200 retired military officials are said
to have broken rules by traveling to China, prompting fears
of possible intelligence losses
AP,
WITH STAFF WRITER
Taipei Times 2001/12/25
About 200 recently retired military and intelligence
officials have violated regulations that restrict their travel
and some may be working for China, a government report said
yesterday.
The report by the Control Yuan -- the government's top official
watchdog -- was alarming because it suggested that possible
intelligence leaks could make Taiwan dangerously vulnerable
to its massive communist neighbor.
If Taiwan can't take care of this intelligence problem, "we
won't be able to guarantee our national security," said
Kang Ning-hsiang (康寧祥), a Control Yuan member.
Within the past three years, 414
officers have retired from the military and intelligence services,
the Control Yuan said.
Under law, the officials must wait three years before they
can travel freely to China. If they wish to visit China before
that time, they must pass a government review.
However, the report said that records
show that at least 200 of the retired officials have gone through
customs in Hong Kong -- a popular transit point for Taiwanese
traveling to China. There are no direct shipping or aviation
links between China and Taiwan.
One official suspected of having illegal
contacts with China is Yeh Ping-nan (葉炳南), the retired head
of a military intelligence bureau in Hong Kong, the Control
Yuan said.
Yeh has allegedly offered to share intelligence with Chinese
officials, who have detained him in China, the report said.
The report also said Lieutenant General
Weng Yen-ching (翁衍慶) and Major General Kung Hsiang-jen (孔祥人),
former vice presidents of the Military Affairs Bureau, had gone
to China shortly after retiring.
Another former official spotlighted
in the report was Major General Pan Hsi-hsien (潘希賢), the former
chief of the personnel department at the National Security Bureau.
Three days after retiring, Pan disappeared into China without
further contact with Taiwanese officials.
Because Pan was in charge employment, examinations and training,
officials fear his knowledge of the National Security Bureau
may be of value to officials in China.
Taiwan has undergone dramatic political change that might have
shaken the loyalties of some military and intelligence officials.
For several decades, the government has been dominated by a
minority of China-born officials who fled to Taiwan with the
former-ruling KMT in 1949. The mainlanders generally favor unification
with China.
Within the past decade, native Taiwanese leaders have come
to power and have promoted a stronger Taiwanese identity. Many
of the mainlanders suspect that the new leaders favor independence
from China, and the mainlanders feel alienated by the new leadership.
This might have prompted some to shift their loyalties to China.
The Control Yuan report cited this confused sense of loyalty
as a serious problem. "The intelligence officials don't
treat the Communist Chinese as an enemy," the report said.
Kang said yesterday the Cabinet should designate a minister
without the portfolio to re-evaluate military intelligence affairs
and the nation's security system.
"Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) has promised to consider
possible solutions with a serious attitude," Kang said.
Other Control Yuan members also said the Cabinet should form
a special team to examine the nation's security system and prevent
future losses of intelligence.
One proposal is stiffen penalties for former military officials
who break rules by traveling to China.
Currently, fines range between NT$20,000 and NT$100,000. Government
officials have said the penalties should be raised to as high
as NT$1 million.