Taiwan Resists U.S. Liu Death Probe Role

U.S. authorities investigating the slaying in California of dissident Chinese-American writer Henry Liu will not under any circumstances be allowed to talk to the Taiwan military intelligence officials arrested here in connection with the case, according to an official of the Taiwan government.

The official said the Americans were allowed to question two alleged Taiwan underworld figures who have been arrested in connection with the killing.

The official discussed the Liu investigation with a Times reporter on the condition that the official not be identified by name, title or agency. He acknowledged that his viewpoint reflected that of the Taiwan government. The meeting with him was arranged by other Taiwan government officials.

“I don’t think (the Americans) can speak to any others besides these two suspects,” he said. “I don’t think they have the right to make any further investigation beyond that line. What is beyond that line should be handled by ourselves and is already being handled by ourselves.”

Of the Taiwan intelligence officials now in custody, the Taiwan official said, “We are trying to find out whether they had prior knowledge (of Liu’s killing), whether they learned about it later on, or whether they masterminded the case. It will take more time.”

Permitting interviews with the two underworld figures in custody, he said, was part of a compromise under which the U.S. investigators --Daly City (Calif.) Police Lt. Thomas Reese and two FBI agents from the United States and, reportedly, a third FBI agent from Tokyo--are being allowed to work in Taiwan.

He also said there is “almost zero chance” that the two men the Americans are being allowed to question will ever be turned over to U.S. authorities for trial. Asked if the words “almost zero” meant that Taiwan was leaving open this possibility, the official replied, “almost zero means zero.” Taiwan has no diplomatic relations, and no extradition treaty, with the United States.

Meanwhile, it was learned from other sources here that Taiwan authorities are planning to make public the evidence purportedly showing that Liu had a relationship with Taiwan intelligence officials.

Liu, author of a book critical of Taiwan President Chiang Ching-kuo, was shot to death last Oct. 15 at his home in Daly City. U.S. authorities have issued warrants for the arrest of Chen Chi-li, reputedly the head of the so-called United Bamboo Gang, Taiwan’s largest underworld gang.

Chen and two others alleged to be gang members are believed to have traveled to the United States to carry out the slaying. In November, as part of what was called a crackdown on organized crime, Taiwan officials arrested Chen and a man named Wu Tung, one of the other two alleged gang members.

Last week, Taiwan officials disclosed that the intelligence bureau of the Ministry of National Defense had been implicated in the case. It was first announced that Col. Chen Hu-men, a middle-level intelligence official, had been arrested an connection with the Liu slaying and later that Vice Adm. Wang Hsi-ling, director of the ministry’s intelligence bureau from 1983 until this month, had also been taken into military custody.

According to Taiwan government sources, the American investigators interviewed Chen, the reputed underworld figure, three times between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. om Wednesday. The sources said they could provide no information on what Chen may have told the investigators. The investigators reportedly questioned Wu Tung on Thursday.

The Taiwan official who ruled out any possibility that the Americans would talk with the detained intelligence officers maintained that despite the apparent involvement of officials of the intelligence bureau, “the (Taiwan) government is not involved in this case.” He suggested that the intelligence officials may have acted on their own.

“Officials in government make some mistakes by themselves,” he said. “When the government finds that out, we have to take some action. When Richard Allen (the former U.S. national security adviser) got some watches from the Japanese, then he made a mistake. You can’t say other White House officials ordered it.”

The official also said he feels that the Taiwan government had been “fully cooperative” with the U.S. government in the investigation of Liu’s murder.

“Many people equate this case with the Aquino case (the slaying last year in Manila of Philippine opposition leader Benigno Aquino). But it’s different. I have not read anything saying (Philippine President Ferdinand) Marcos will welcome your investigators, but we welcome your investigators . . . . We really have done the maximum to cooperate with the U.S. This shows we have nothing to hide.”

The Taiwan official also denied that Taiwan authorities had taken any action as the result of pressure from U.S. authorities.

Chen reportedly implicated the intelligence bureau in tape recordings he made and circulated after the slaying, at least one of which is in the possession of the FBI. Asked whether the Taiwan government was forced to move against the military officials because of these tape recordings, the official replied, “I don’t think there is any solid evidence we acted because of the existence of tapes.”

The official said it had been found that Liu had “some working relationship” with Taiwan’s intelligence bureau. But he said it was uncertain whether Liu had ever actually agreed to cooperate with intelligence officials or had ever been paid by them.

In San Francisco, Liu’s widow said her husband had talked to FBI agents following trips to China and had engaged in “personal missions” for President Chiang, but she denied that her husband had been a paid informant or spy, the Associated Press reported.