Former National Security Bureau (NSB) director-general Tsai Tsao-ming (
"While on his way to Tainan to handle the shooting incident, Tsai made calls using a satellite phone to the Pacific command of the US military," NSB special services center deputy commander Major General Chiu Chung-nan (
"Tsai also called pan-blue camp presidential and vice presidential candidates Lien Chan (
Tsai resigned as NSB director-general to assume administrative responsibility for the March 19 shooting of Chen and Lu in Tainan.
Chiu was speaking yesterday during a meeting of the legislature's National Defense Committee in response to inquiries from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Hsiu-yen (盧秀燕) on how Tsai responded to the incident.
Chiu's public reference to Tsai's communication with the US military was unusual, as the military usually keeps such matters top secret.
However, Chiu did not go into any detail about what Tsai said to the US military or what the US military's response was.
Chiu was with Tsai as the former director-general flew to Tainan from Taipei in response to the shootings.
Lu Hsiu-yen commended Tsai for taking what she said was the correct course of action.
"Tsai has been the NSB's representative to the US. He is experienced in contacting the US," Lu said.
"As far as I can work out, Tsai made more than one phone call to the US. One was to the Pacific command and another was made to Washington," she said.
"We do not know which officials of the US government Tsai reached at that time, but we must give him praise for doing the right thing," she said.
Lu added that Tsai's action was likely aimed at preventing conflict with China based on a misunderstanding of the incident.
"China might've opted to take military action against Taiwan if the political situation got out of control," she said.
The NSB would not confirm or deny Lu's comments.
Lu's praise for Tsai came a little late, as he has already stepped down over the shootings, in which presidential bodyguards provided by the NSB have been accused of not performing or responding as well as they should have.
Indeed, the bodyguards' performance has been described by the bureau's incoming director-general, Hsueh Shih-ming (薛石民), as a "total failure," for which he made a public apology during yesterday's defense committee meeting.
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