Chinese in L.A. Trade Allegations : Consulate’s Charges of Payment to Protesters Angrily Denied

Officials at the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles said Tuesday they had information suggesting that representatives of the government of Taiwan were paying Chinese students $100 each to participate in anti-Communist demonstrations in the city.

The assertion was strongly denied by officials at the Coordination Council for North American Affairs, which represents Taiwan here, and termed “almost funny” and “bizarre” by local Chinese-Americans familiar with the students who have marched in local rallies in recent weeks.

Since violence erupted in China in early June, officials at the consulate on Shatto Place have been conspicuously absent from local diplomatic events and have refused to grant interviews.

Anonymous Message

But in a departure from that, Guo Chongli, the consul in charge of political and press affairs, telephoned The Times on Tuesday.

Guo alleged that an anonymous message had been left on the consulate’s telephone answering machine Monday. Guo then played a tape of an English-speaking caller who, the consular official said, apparently thought he was leaving a message for the Coordination Council.

“I want to talk to Mr. Chen,” the male voice said in a Western-type drawl. “He told me he would give me $100 for each student’s name I gave him who participated in the pro-democracy demonstrations here in Los Angeles. And I’ve got the names of about 25 students and I was calling to talk to Mr. Chen for the money. My name is Joe. He knows me. So have him call me.”

Guo said the decision to make the tape public was unrelated to last week’s arrests in China of 13 people on charges that they promoted the pro-democracy movement as spies for Taiwan.

‘This Is a Fact’

“This action has nothing to do with that,” Guo said, adding of the tape: “This is a fact. You cannot deny a fact.

“We have friends in Chinatown,” he continued. “Ordinary Chinese-Americans, who have told us they saw these people receive money from the Coordination Council after they shouted slogans: ‘Down with the Communist Party.’ ”

Other Chinese consulates in Chicago, San Francisco, New York and Houston have reported that “similar things have happened,” Guo alleged.

In response, Stephen S. F. Chen, director general of the Coordination Council, said: “It is almost beyond my dignity to make any statement of such fabrication. I will officially deny it, because it is an insult to the integrity of the Chinese students studying here. As far as I know all the demonstrations are spontaneous. We have no part in this. We are not involved in any public demonstration in this country.”

Lost Its Status

Taiwan lost its diplomatic status with the United States after this country recognized mainland China in 1978. The Coordination Council took over some of the functions of the former Taiwanese consulate here.

Sue Fan, administrator of the Center for Pacific Rim Studies at UCLA and organizer of recent demonstrations in Los Angeles, said she suspected the Beijing government’s effort to blame the unrest on outside forces was being repeated here.

“You might connect this with the 13 people arrested on the mainland,” she said.

Further, officials of the Coordination Council seem to have gone out of their way in recent weeks to avoid involvement with the local demonstrations, she said.

Government spokesmen in Taiwan said this week they have avoided making statements on China for fear of being used as “a scapegoat” in Beijing.

‘Almost Bizarre’

“So far, at all the events, I’ve seen no presence of the Coordination Council,” Fan added, “and some people have criticized them for not participating.”

“It’s almost bizarre they would do this,” she said of the consulate. “It’s almost funny.”

Cheng Shiu-Yuen, a mathematics professor at UCLA who has attended some of the local demonstrations, called the tape “propaganda” and said it was unlikely that Chinese students would take money for participating.