Taiwan Indicts Crime Figure, 2 Others in Death of Journalist

The head of Taiwan’s largest underworld syndicate and two of his followers were indicted Wednesday in Taipei on charges of murdering Chinese-language journalist Henry Liu in his Daly City home last October.

The charges were contained in an indictment issued by the district court prosecutor’s office in Taipei. An English translation of the indictment was released in Los Angeles by the Taiwan Coordinating Council for North American Affairs, the country’s unofficial diplomatic mission.

The indictment charges Chen Chi-li, 41, the head of the United Bamboo gang, and two members of the criminal organization with homicide and with organized crime activities unrelated to the Liu murder.

In detailing the crime, the indictment states that Chen discussed the proposed murder with the head of the country’s military intelligence network, Vice Adm. Wang Hsi-ling. Last month, Wang and two of his subordinates were relieved of their duties and placed under detention after Chen implicated them in the murder plot. Military prosecutors are investigating their alleged connection to the murder.

(Reuters reported from Taipei on Wednesday that Taiwan Justice Minister Shih Chi-yang told Parliament that the military intelligence bureau had employed Chen to collect information on China. That was the first admission by the Taiwan government that Chen had an official connection to the intelligence service. But Shih denied that Chen had been ordered to kill Liu.

(“This incident was purely an independent action by individuals and basically violated the government’s persistent policy against violence,” Shih said. “The government has never been involved in this case. We believe it should not affect the friendly relations between the Republic of China (Taiwan)and the United States.”)

Police in Daly City, a San Francisco suburb, said the account of the crime included in the indictment contains numerous errors. Lt. Thomas Reese, who interrogated Chen last month in Taipei, said the indictment provides incorrect dates and details of the crime.

Contradicts Evidence

Reese said the motive given for the crime in the government’s indictment, that Chen wanted to teach Liu a lesson for offending one of his friends, contradicts evidence that police have obtained during their three-month investigation. Reese refused to elaborate on what he considers the motive for the killing.

In addition to Chen, the prosecutor indicted Wu Tun, 35, and Tung Kuei-sen, 33, as accomplices in the murder. Tung has fled Taiwan and is reported to be hiding in the Philippines. Both Chen and Wu were arrested in Taipei last November during an anti-crime sweep of the Bamboo Gang. It was not until two months later that the gang members’ alleged involvement in Liu’s murder was suspected.

Liu, a naturalized U.S. citizen, wrote numerous books and editorials critical of martial law in Taiwan and the ruling Chiang family. His widow and members of the Committee to Obtain Justice for Henry Liu have long charged that his murder was politically motivated and ordered at the highest levels of the Taiwan government.