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Exchange of spies could be included in cross-strait talks: SEF

ROC Central News Agency

2009/12/17 22:20:24

By Y.L. Kao

Taipei, Dec. 17 (CNA) An exchange of intelligence agents from Taiwan and China being held captive by each side could be put on the agenda for the future round of cross-Taiwan Strait talks, Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Deputy Chairman Kao Koong-lian said Thursday.

Answering reporters' questions at the Legislative Yuan, Kao said that though the subject never emerged, "if the time is right, " many issues could be put on the negotiation table between negotiators of Taiwan and China, including the exchange of intelligence agents.

The reporters were conveying a call made a day earlier by Chen Hu-men, a former Military Intelligence Bureau (MIB) chief, for the SEF to work toward the release of Taiwanese spies held in China over the decades by taking advantage of the opportunity presented by the talks between Taiwan's SEF and China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) next week in Taichung.

If it is inconvenient for the government to openly raise the issue, it could commission a task force formed by retired MIB officials to initiate contacts with the Chinese authorities to discuss the matter, Chen Hu-men added.