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Chinese agent does
‘disappearing’ act
INTO THIN AIR: Despite notification by US
authorities that Bill Moo was being deported to Taiwan, and a press release to
that effect, no one seems to know where, or who, he is
By J. Michael Cole / Staff Reporter
The controversy over the fate of Ko-suen “Bill” Moo (慕可舜), a Taiwanese
businessman who was arrested by US federal agents in Miami in 2005 for
attempting to ship sensitive military technology to China, continued to mount
yesterday following his deportation from the US to Taiwan last week, with
officials saying they have no idea about his whereabouts.
Moo, who was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in a US federal prison in 2005
for seeking to export defense articles — including an F110-GE-129 afterburning
turbofan engine for the F-16 — to China, landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International
Airport on Wednesday, accompanied by two US officers.
Reports at the time of Moo’s arrest said he had been working with a French
middleman named Maurice Serge Voros, who remains at large. Prior to focusing on
the F-16 engine manufactured by General Electric, the pair had also sought to
acquire UH-60 Blackhawk engines for China. Other items on Moo’s shopping list —
all destined for China — were the AGM-129 cruise missile and AIM-120 air-to-air
missile.
In a press release on Wednesday, the US Department of Homeland Security’s
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency said that upon arrival in Taiwan,
Moo was turned over to local authorities. It added that Enforcement and Removal
officers had coordinated the removal with the Homeland Security Investigations
Office of International Affairs and local authorities in Taiwan.
However, judicial authorities on Friday said they had no information about Moo’s
arrival.
In a follow-up by the Taipei Times, Ministry of National Defense spokesman David
Lo (羅紹和) said yesterday that the ministry also was “not aware” of Moo’s
deportation.
Lo’s comment came despite confirmation to the Taipei Times by a senior officer
from the National Immigration Agency’s Border Affairs Corps at the Taoyuan
airport on Saturday that the American Institute in Taiwan had informed Taiwanese
authorities prior to Moo’s deportation of his imminent arrival.
Border Affairs Corps sent officers to wait for Moo at the gate, the source said,
but after the flight was apparently delayed, the officers eventually moved to
another gate.
“For some reason, we did not meet Moo at the airport,” he said. “We’ve lost
track [of him].”
Asked why Moo had apparently slipped away, the officer said the agency “might
not have jurisdiction” and that as far as he knew, Moo had never been convicted
of any crimes in Taiwan.
The South Korea-born Moo, who was an international sales consultant for US
defense firm Lockheed Martin, maker of the F-16, and other US defense companies
in Taiwan prior to his arrest in the US, was involved in the Anyu 4 air defense
program in Taiwan and was the principal sales agent on the sensitive Po Sheng
“Broad Victory” C4ISR project.
Reports at the time said Moo relied on his “extensive connections” — primarily
with the Republic of China air force — to consolidate his role within Lockheed
Martin’s business unit.
During the decade he worked as a defense sales agent in Taiwan, Moo had
reportedly gained an impressive reputation within the arms industry, with
reports referring to him as “the air force’s most critical arms broker.”
Insiders saw Moo as a member of the so-called “gang of four” within the air
force, which reportedly included three senior Taiwanese generals who dictated
many of the weapons procurement efforts.
One of the alleged members of the “gang of four” was former minister of national
defense Chen Chao-ming (陳肇敏), sources have told the Taipei Times. The other two
allegedly included a former air force deputy commander in chief and Aerospace
Industrial Development Corp (漢翔航空) chairman, as well as a former electronic
warfare section chief at the ministry’s Communication Electronics and
Information Bureau.
A source also said the then--country manager at Lockheed Martin, Gus Sorensen,
reportedly tried without success to convince senior management at the company to
fire Moo, pointing to possible early doubts about his reliability.
Lo said the ministry had learned about the case after Moo was arrested in the US
and that it had completed an internal investigation years ago, which found that
no ministry or military officials were involved in the case.
“The investigation found that the case posed no threat to Taiwan’s national
security,” he said.
The spokesman said the ministry could not comment further or speculate simply
because Moo was the principal sales agent on the Po Sheng project, adding that
Moo’s conspiracy “has nothing to do with the ministry.”
Weighing in on the possible repercussions of Moo’s return to Taiwan, Chinese
Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Herman Shuai (帥化民), a member of the
legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, said he had never
heard of Moo.
However, he said the case was unlikely to have a negative impact on Taiwan’s
efforts to secure the acquisition of F-16C/D aircraft and upgrades for its aging
F-16A/B fleet from the US.
Given the sensitivity of the case and the exposure of Moo as a Chinese agent,
Shuai said, Moo would “no longer be a valuable asset for anyone.”
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said it was “a
disgrace” that both the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Justice
were unaware of Moo’s return to Taiwan.
Tsai urged the government to immediately launch a thorough investigation to
assess whether Taiwanese officials were involved and national security had been
sabotaged.
Moo’s deportation coincides with Taiwan’s efforts to acquire the F-16C/Ds from
the US. Unless Taiwan takes appropriate measures to reassure the US on Moo, the
case could have a negative impact on the bid, Tsai said.
Another item sought by Taipei whose sale could be compromised if Washington
loses confidence in Taiwan’s ability to protect against transfer of sensitive
military technology to China, defense experts say, is the electronically scanned
array (AESA) radar, a key component in plans to upgrade Taiwan’s F-16A/Bs.
The US is expected to announce its final decision on the F-16 sale to Taiwan on
Oct. 1.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CHRIS WANG
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