Congress to Examine U.S.-Taiwan Ties : Will Ask Whether Liu Slaying Was Part of Intimidation Pattern

The apparent involvement of Taiwan intelligence agents in the murder of Chinese-American journalist Henry Liu in California has prompted some outraged House and Senate members to re-examine the United States’ already strained ties with Taiwan.

As part of that review, a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee plans hearings today on whether the slaying of Liu in Daly City is part of a pattern of harassment and intimidation by the Taiwan government of its U.S.-based critics.

Liu was shot to death Oct. 15 in the garage of his home just outside San Francisco by two bicycle-riding and hooded Asians. Preliminary murder charges have been filed in Taiwan against two reputed gangsters, and charges are being considered against three Defense Ministry intelligence officials.

If Congress finds a pattern of intimidation by Taiwan, President Reagan could cut off arms shipments to the Taipei government--although such a move is considered highly unlikely. Rep. Stephen J. Solarz (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Asian and Pacific affairs subcommittee that has scheduled the hearing, sponsored the 1982 amendment to the Arms Export Control Act that would allow such a cutoff.

Resolutions Introduced

On Wednesday, Solarz and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) introduced joint House and Senate resolutions that call for the Taiwan government to send back to the United States anyone eventually implicated in the killing of Liu. There is no extradition treaty between the United States and Taiwan, which have not had formal diplomatic relations since Washington recognized Peking six years ago.

While stopping short of urging an arms cutoff, the resolutions show that the U.S. legislators will not be satisfied if Taiwan sticks by its stated intention to try anyone charged with the murder in its own courts. The resolutions were co-sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) and in the House by California Reps. Norman Y. Mineta (D-San Jose) and Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo), as well as by Rep. Jim Leach (R-Iowa) and others.

In contrast to congressional criticism, U.S. intelligence officials say they are pleased that the Taiwanese have cooperated by allowing FBI agents and Daly City police to interview Chen Chi-li and Wu Tun, the pair charged in Liu’s death. Chen is reputed to be a leader of United Bamboo, Taiwan’s largest underworld gang, and Wu Tun is said to be a member of the gang.

‘Outraged’ at Implication

But the U.S. authorities were not allowed to question any of the Taiwan intelligence officials said to be implicated in the crime. They include Vice Adm. Wang Hsi-ling, ousted last month as director of the Defense Ministry’s intelligence bureau; his deputy, Maj. Gen. Hu Yi-min, and Col. Chen Hu-men, a mid-level intelligence official.

The Taipei government’s limited cooperation is not surprising, according to Senate sources, because it is in its interest to portray the murder of Liu as an isolated act committed by misguided individuals acting outside official authority.

Solarz, however, said he is “outraged at the implications” that Taiwan government officials could have ordered Liu’s killing.

“Our hearing and further work by the subcommittee should help assess whether this was part of a consistent pattern of harassment and intimidation of Taiwanese-born critics of the Taipei government who are living in the United States,” Solarz said. “Furthermore, I call upon the Taiwan government to send back those accused of murdering Mr. Liu to face trial in the United States.”

Lobbyists Quiet

Possibly reflecting the Taiwanese concern about U.S. reaction to the Liu case, powerful American lobbyists for the Taipei government have maintained a low profile on Capitol Hill. The lobbyists include Richard B. Stone, a former Democratic senator from Florida and former Latin American trouble-shooter for Reagan, and the Hannaford Co. of Washington, a public relations firm where Michael K. Deaver was an officer before he became White House deputy chief of staff in 1981.

Both Stone and Hannaford representatives declined to comment on the Liu case on grounds that they represent the Taiwanese only on economic and trade matters.

Rep. Mineta said Congress adopted the arms cutoff sanctions after House hearings into the controversial 1981 death of Prof. Chen Wen-cheng, a statistician at Carnegie-Mellon University, whose body was found on the campus of National Taiwan University.

The Taipei government said Chen, who was in Taiwan visiting his family, had committed suicide shortly after being picked up for questioning by Taiwanese intelligence officers. But U.S. doctors who examined the body later said it showed signs of violence at the hands of others.

During the 1981 hearings, the House panel heard evidence that Taipei intelligence agents routinely harass Taiwanese student critics and others living in the United States.