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DPP
says MJIB is spying on its youth camp
CLOAK AND DAGGER: A DPP legislator and the DPP’s
youth wing said Kaohsiung police asked for the names of participants, while
Tsai’s office said she was also being monitored
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
The Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau (MJIB) has conducted illegal
monitoring to spy on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), despite President
Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) pledge that no spying on political parties would occur
under his watch, the DPP said yesterday.
In a press conference, the DPP’s Department of Youth Development and DPP
Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) accused MJIB agent Chen Chun-cheng (陳俊成) of
collecting a list of the participants at a youth camp organized by the DPP in
Greater Kaohsiung.
According to department director Chang Chi-chang (張基長), the party was informed
by the Kaohsiung Hotel, where about 40 young campers would stay tomorrow and on
Sunday for the two-day camp, on Wednesday night that local police, under Chen’s
instructions, asked the hotel to provide a list of the campers.
Chen admitted to the practice in a telephone conversation with the DPP yesterday
morning and said the bureau needed the list to protect campers from a scheduled
protest at the Executive Yuan’s Southern Taiwan Joint Services Center on Sunday,
the DPP’s Department of Youth Development deputy director Chou Yu-shiu (周榆修)
said.
Reached by Chou by telephone during the press conference, Chen acknowledged he
had contacted local police and the hotel, but said the incident was a “complete
misunderstanding” and that he had never asked for the camper list.
Kuan, who represents the Kaohsiung constituency, said Chen’s comments did not
make sense because the hotel and the joint service center are a 20 minute ride
apart and she could not understand how the bureau was going to protect the
campers.
The lawmaker said she was not sure if the practice was related to DPP Chairman
Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), who is scheduled to attend the camp tomorrow.
“If the MJIB is involved in illegal monitoring, it means that Ma has betrayed
his pledge, because the Presidential Office said on July 14 that the president
would never allow illegal spying on politicians during his term,” Kuan said.
Coincidentally, the office of former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said
yesterday that Chen was also involved in an assignment to gather information on
Tsai’s scheduled visit to Kaohsiung on Sunday for a book-signing activity,
citing local sources.
The National Security Council reportedly asked the MJIB in May last year to
deploy 28 agents to monitor Tsai.
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