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Cable says Tsai
worried about PRC gangsters
RELEASE THE HOUNDS: Tsai Ing-wen expressed
concern in 2008 over rumors Chinese ‘gangsters’ would be sent to ‘teach the DPP
a lesson’ ahead of Chen Yunlin’s visit
By Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff Reporter
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was worried
that China would exert force to counter the party’s planned protest against
Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) Chairman Chen
Yunlin’s (陳雲林) Taiwan visit in November 2008, a US diplomatic cable concerning
Taiwan among those released by WikiLeaks on Aug. 30 showed.
A cable dated Oct. 30, 2008, issued by the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT)
showed Tsai expressing concern to then-AIT director Stephen Young about reports
that “the PRC [People’s Republic of China] is pressuring Taiwan businesspeople
and about rumors that mainland ‘gangsters’ might travel to Taiwan to ‘teach the
DPP a lesson.’”
Chen was about to make his first visit to Taiwan for cross-strait negotiations
scheduled for Nov. 3 to Nov. 7, 2008.
The cable showed that Tsai disliked the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT)
efforts to block or limit the DPP from holding protests against Chen at suitable
locations and stressed the importance of avoiding any violence during the
demonstrations.
Tsai also said that gangsters with possible China links threatened then-DPP
Tainan City councilor Wang Ting-yu (王定宇), who was involved in a melee with ARATS
Vice Chairman Zhang Mingqing (張銘清) during the latter’s private visit to Tainan’s
Confucius Temple on Oct. 21, 2008, the cable said.
Tsai had also told Young “she wished to relay to him concern that PRC
authorities are pressuring the Taiwan business community in the mainland. For
example, businesses are being told to contribute to a fund set up by PRC
authorities to pay for expenses involved in attacking Taiwan political figures.”
Furthermore, “Tsai heard rumors that Chinese authorities might direct
‘gangsters’ to go to Taiwan to teach the opposition a lesson. If such stories
are true, Tsai feared the environment in Taiwan would become ‘scary’ and that no
one would dare stand up to China,” the cable said.
During Chen’s stay in Taipei, there were several incidents of police violence
and abuse of power against protestors holding demonstrations in various
occasions.
A cable dated Dec. 5, 2008, from the US embassy in Beijing, showed that the
Chinese authorities were satisfied with the security for Chen, with ARATS Vice
Chairman Sun Yafu (孫亞夫), who accompanied Chen, quoted as saying that he “did not
ever feel personally threatened during the trip and commented that the Taiwan
security forces were very ‘diligent’ in their efforts.”
Meanwhile, an Oct. 29, 2008, cable, also from the US embassy in Beijing, said
there were considerable discussions in Beijing about the timing and arrangements
of Chen’s visit to Taiwan ahead of his trip, even before the Oct. 21 incident
involving Zhang.
Chinese officials were “quite concerned” over Chen’s personal security because
of the DPP’s planned protests, the US embassy said it had learned from its
contacts.
Zhou Zhihuai (周至懷), then-vice chairman of the National Society of Taiwan
Studies, was quoted in the cable as saying that he advised Chen to proceed on
his Taiwan trip “as planned” because a postponement would be seen as a “DPP
victory” and might appear as if Chen were trying to duck protesters.
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