Businesspeople say
PRC sending spies
EYE ON YOU: The Mainland Affairs Council
spokesman said it would be impossible for China to send agents to monitor people
here given the strict regulations in place
By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
Taiwanese businessmen Shen Po-sheng,
left, and Huang Hsi-tsung, center, yesterday say they have received threats from
the Chinese government warning them not to proceed with a planned protest
against Beijing on Monday.
Photo: Taipei Times
A group of China-based Taiwanese
businesspeople yesterday said they had received threats from the Chinese
government that it would send agents to Taipei to investigate and that it would
retaliate if they proceed with a planned protest against Beijing on Monday.
The demonstration in Taipei will be the third this month organized by
businesspeople who say they lost their investments in China because of illegal
seizure by either their Chinese partners or officials. The protests aim to
highlight the Chinese and Taiwanese governments¡¦ neglect of their plight, the
group said.
Huang Hsi-tsung (¶À¿üÁo), who returned from China¡¦s Fujian Province after losing
more than 10 million yuan (US$1.5 million) in investment, said he had received a
threatening phone call on Wednesday from Zhang Jiwei (±iÄ~°¶), an official of the
People¡¦s Procuratorate of the Province of Fujian.
¡§He told me that agents would be sent to Taipei to collect information, and if
we said or did anything inappropriate, they would definitely retaliate and seek
revenge,¡¨ said Huang, one of the organizers of Monday¡¦s protest.
Huang said Zhang told him that, because of his behavior, Beijing¡¦s Taiwan
Affairs Office (TAO) had dropped his investment case, which was subsequently
confirmed by a follow-up call to the TAO by Huang.
¡§Let there be no doubt that, if I¡¦m listed as missing in the future, it will be
an act of retaliation carried out by none other than the People¡¦s Procuratorate
of the Province of Fujian,¡¨ Huang told the press conference, which was hosted by
the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus.
¡§Chinese officials have threatened to send people to Taipei to investigate a
legal assembly ... This is an infringement of Taiwan¡¦s sovereignty and
democracy, as well as a matter of public power and national integrity,¡¨ DPP
Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (½²·×·ã) said.
¡§All Chinese agents, if they do enter Taiwanese territory, should be deported
immediately,¡¨ Tsai added.
The Constitution protects people¡¦s right to assembly and to stage protests, DPP
Legislator Huang Wei-cher (¶À°¶õ) said, adding ¡§even the simple thought of Chinese
officials making threats to investigate participants in a protest is
unthinkable.¡¨
Shen Po-sheng (¨H¬f³Ó), who organized the last two protests since returning to
Taiwan on July 2 after fighting a losing battle to recover his assets in China
for 20 years, accused TAO spokesperson Fan Liqing (SÄR«C) of lying.
Fan on Wednesday said Shen¡¦s protests were politically motivated and that 85.4
percent of the 28,215 cases filed by Taiwanese businesspeople from 2000 to last
year had been resolved.
Shen was a rare case among Taiwanese businesspeople involved in disputes in
China in that he received compensation from the Chinese government. However, he
did not receive a reimbursement of 16 million yuan ¡X less than one-tenth of his
initial investment of 180 million yuan ¡X until his attempted suicide in
Tiananman Square in May 2009 caught the attention of the Chinese central
government.
¡§The only political force behind me is the Chinese Communist Party. The party
warned me against any criticism and threatened retaliation,¡¨ Shen said.
Asked for comments about China threatening to send agents to Taipei to monitor
Taiwanese businesspeople, Mainland Affairs Council spokesman Liu Te-shun (¼B¼w¾±)
said there are rules that regulate Chinese visits to Taiwan and it would be
impossible for such individuals to come to Taiwan.
The government respects people¡¦s right to assemble and parade as stated in the
Constitution, he said.
Additional reporting by Su Yung-yao
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