Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村), a former premier and also former chief of the general staff (CGS) yesterday criticized prosecutors and investigators conducting probes into the murder of navy Captain Yin Ching-feng (尹清楓) for making false allegations against him to the media.
"I strongly protest the false allegations against me. My reputation has suffered considerable damage," Hau said at a news conference he called at a Taipei-based private foundation he chairs.
"I cannot understand why prosecutors and investigators responsible for the case keep leaking information to the press about their suspicion of my role in the case without ever seeking any direct contact with me."
Hau said that he wanted the investigators to tell him in person why he has been barred from leaving the country and whether he has been put on special list for questioning.
A similar move has been taken by prosecutors against another former chief of the general staff (CGS) Admiral Liu Ho-chien (劉和謙), who reportedly was questioned by prosecutors for his suspected connection to the Yin murder as well as a related weapons purchase scandals.
Yin was murdered during Liu's CGS term in late 1993.
An angry Hau called on the prosecutors not to use the press to make anonymous remarks about the case.
Hau's son, lawmaker Hau Lung-pin (郝龍斌), told the press he was pretty sure that the groundless allegations against his father as reported by media came from "certain" prosecutors and investigators responsible for probes into the Yin murder.
"I hope the prosecutors will respect the rights of any person under investigation. My father had been the premier. He has his dignity. The new government should demonstrate better skills and capabilities in handling a case of this kind," Hau said.
At the news conference, General Hau explained in detail why he decided on behalf of the country in the late 1980s to buy the French-made Lafayette-class frigate, rather than an initially favored South Korean-made fighting ship, which was considered a key aspect of the Lafayette purchase scandal and is suspected to be connected with the Yin murder.
Hau had been the CGS between 1981 and 1989.
"We scrapped our initial plans to buy Weishan fighting ships from South Korea mainly because Seoul was then about to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. We could not buy weapons from a country which was going to abandon us," Hau said.
"Another main consideration was that we were desperate to find and secure sources of weapons in Europe. France was the best choice since it could make its own decision without seeking the opinion of the US," he said.
"I think the Lafayette frigate deal was my greatest achievement during my CGS term. There is absolutely no possibility of any irregularities with the deal," he said.
"I strongly deny there were any sort of commissions or kickbacks in connection with any single arms sale. I also believe former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and his right-hand man Su Chih-cheng (蘇志誠) did not get involved in the alleged Lafayette purchase scandal, as has been widely rumored. President Lee respected my opinion in arms purchases. He always left decisions to me."
Hau also brushed aside a long-standing assumption that Andrew Wang (汪傳浦), who claimed to be an agent for the manufacturer of the Lafayette frigates and has since fled the country, played an important role in the frigate deal with France.
"Wang did not have any sort of connection with the deal. The deal was between Taiwan's government and the French government. I negotiated in person with my French counterpart about the matter," Hau said.
However, Hau did add that current presidential office deputy secretary-general, Chien Yu-hsin (簡又新), had spoken in favor of Andrew Wang in the past when he was a lawmaker.
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