The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said that the government neglected national security concerns when it allowed a top security official’s family member to teach at a Chinese university.
National Security Council Secretary-General Su Chi’s (蘇起) younger brother, National Chengchi University law professor Su Yung-chin (蘇永欽), currently serves as a visiting professor at Zhejiang University in China.
DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) yesterday criticized the government for placing no restrictions on family members of high-ranking officials when they visit or work in China.
“Su Chi’s wife, Chen Yue-ching (陳月卿), went to Beijing in April to promote her book. At the time the Presidential Office said ‘it would not happen again,’ and now Su Chi’s younger brother takes up a job as a professor at Zhejiang University in China. Will the Presidential Office tell the public that it won’t happen again?” Cheng said.
Noting that Su Yung-chin formerly served as chairman of the National Communications Commission, Cheng said he could have easily found a teaching job in Taiwan.
“We do not see any reason why he has to take a job in China,” Cheng said.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said at a separate setting yesterday that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was aware of the matter, but that “Su Chi and Su Yung-chin are not direct relatives.”
Wang said in modern society brothers live their own separate lives, and their relationship was unlike that of a husband and wife. Su Ying-chin’s academic activities in China were not a matter of national security, he said.
In response, Cheng said the Presidential Office’s explanation was not convincing and criticized the Ma government and Su Chi’s family for failing to realize the sensitivity of their activities in China and the public’s negative impression of their conduct.
DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said officials involved in national security affairs have to take tests before they take up their posts and that one of the questions on the test is whether or not they have family members that are involved in activities in China.
“It is ironic that Su Chi is the top security official and yet his wife and younger brother have both visited or taken a job in China,” Huang said.
Asked for comment, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) also criticized Su Yung-chin.
“It is alright for an ordinary person to teach in China, but it is improper for Su Yung-chin to take up a job as a professor at a Chinese national university,” Chiu said.
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