The Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau yesterday said allegations brought by the Mainland Affairs Council against former deputy council minister Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀) involved leaks of classified information to China, as other sources said that Chang could face trial for treason.
Sources said that Chang might have divulged information classified as “confidential” under the National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法) in two separate instances.
The act classifies information under three designations: top secret, secret and confidential.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
“Confidential” applies to information that would cause identifiable damage to national security.
Sources said the bureau would send a request today to the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office that prosecutors open an investigation of Chang on suspicion of treason.
Meanwhile, the controversy over Chang’s resignation last week showed no sign of dying.
The council and the Presidential Office yesterday disputed Chang’s allegation that National Security Council (NSC) Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) had ordered his removal and that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) did not know about King’s move in advance.
In an interview with the Chinese-language United Daily News published yesterday, Chang said that Mainland Affairs Council Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) had told him on Thursday last week that “a superior” wanted him to leave his post.
“When I asked who the superior was, Wang said it was King,” Chang told the paper.
Chang said he asked Wang if Ma knew about the request and Wang said no, but assured him that arrangements would be made for Chang to become chairman of a company.
Chang said he had no idea what “national secrets” he was supposed to have leaked, although he did have some suspicions.
“I think I might know what it is about. But I cannot reveal it now, since if I did, it would constitute a leak of confidential information,” he told the paper.
He said he felt that he had been “sold out by his superiors.”
However, Wang told a news conference that he had not told Chang who the “superior” was when he ordered his deputy to step down.
He said he had reported to Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) and King before talking with Chang and had obtained their consent.
He did not report to Ma directly because he “believed the premier and the NSC secretary-general would do so,” Wang said.
Separately, Presidential Office spokesperson Ma Wei-kuo (馬瑋國) said the president had been informed by the premier and King of the decision to ask Chang to resign.
The president had also asked Wang about the matter after being informed, and supported Chang’s removal and an investigation, Ma Wei-kuo said.
As for why Chang has been offered a corporate position when he was being asked to step down and was suspected of leaking information, Wang said it was to allow some “leeway” and “to protect Chang’s rights and reputation because there was no confirmation yet that he had leaked secrets.”
Wang said he could not provide any details about the alleged national security leaks.
He also declined to answer questions about a tip-off from “the outside” about Chang’s actions that the council reportedly received in the second half of last month.
When asked who would be held accountable if the allegations of national security leaks by Chang proved to be true or if the allegations were false, Wang said that as his job as minister was directly tied to the results of the investigation, he would report to the public once the case is closed.
Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強), an attorney and the convener of the Democratic Front Against the Cross-strait Trade in Services Agreement, said King had violated the Constitution if he was the one who ordered Chang to step down.
“Even if the president knew about the decision, it would still be a violation if it was King who made the move,” Lai said.
The Constitution stipulates that ministers and commission chairs “shall be appointed by the president of the republic upon the recommendation of the president of the Executive Yuan,” Lai said.
Decommissioning should follow the same process, Lai said.
While Wang has denied it was King who had issued the order, he did not clarify who had done so either, referring to the person simply as “the superior.”
Chang and Wang’s remarks clearly contradict each other, so “obviously someone is lying, and I would expect the Legislative Yuan and the Control Yuan to probe the matter and King’s suspected overreaching,” Lai said.
King issued a statement late last night saying he might take legal action against anyone who defames his reputation.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and accompanying warships were in the Philippines yesterday after holding combat drills with Philippine forces in the disputed South China Sea in a show of firepower that would likely antagonize China. The Charles de Gaulle on Friday docked at Subic Bay, a former US naval base northwest of Manila, for a break after more than two months of deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. The French carrier engaged with security allies for contingency readiness and to promote regional security, including with Philippine forces, navy ships and fighter jets. They held anti-submarine warfare drills and aerial combat training on Friday in
COMBAT READINESS: The military is reviewing weaponry, personnel resources, and mobilization and recovery forces to adjust defense strategies, the defense minister said The military has released a photograph of Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) appearing to sit beside a US general during the annual Han Kuang military exercises on Friday last week in a historic first. In the photo, Koo, who was presiding over the drills with high-level officers, appears to be sitting next to US Marine Corps Major General Jay Bargeron, the director of strategic planning and policy of the US Indo-Pacific Command, although only Bargeron’s name tag is visible in the seat as “J5 Maj General.” It is the first time the military has released a photo of an active
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
RSS