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DPP DENIES EXISTENCE OF 'WEICHENG' PANEL ON CHINA INTELLIGENCE

Central News Agency

2005-07-04 16:53:16

    Taipei, July 4 (CNA) The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) denied a media report Monday that it has joined forces with national security agencies in setting up a special panel to intensify collection and analysis of China-related intelligence.

    Tung Li-wen, director of the DPP's China affairs department, said the media report was not correct, adding that his department has not forged any ties with any national security agencies.

    According to the media report, the special task force, dubbed the "Weicheng panel, " is housed on the 14th floor of the DPP headquarters. "Weicheng," meaning fortress besieged, is the title of a well-known novel by the late Chinese writer Qian Zhongshu.

    The report said the DPP has chosen the name in the hopes that the panel can help work out strategies to cope with China's threat and diplomatic embargo against Taiwan by analyzing China-related information and intelligence.

    The "Weicheng panel" has recruited researchers from local political science and mainland affairs graduate institutes to collect information about underground democratic movements in China and mainstream public opinion there about major current events through the Internet, the report said, adding that the panel is also expected to offer counseling on how to deal with the mounting "China fever" in Taiwan and the international community.

    The report speculated that the panel's funding does not come solely from the DPP and that the DPP headquarters does not get involved in the panel's research and operations.

    Claiming that national security agencies have traditionally liked to commission some research organizations to assist in the gathering and analyzing of China-related intelligence, the report said relations between the "Weicheng panel" and national security agencies deserve watch.

    Commenting on the report, Tung said that collecting information about public opinion in China through the Internet or other channels has been one of his department's key tasks. "For instance, when anti-Japanese street protests raged in China earlier this year, we monitored Chinese sentiment about the movement through the Internet, " Tung said, adding that there is no so-called "Weicheng panel" in his department or at the DPP headquarters.

    Tung further said collecting information concerning public opinion in China and the latest developments there is common practice in Taiwan, adding that many local organizations, including media outlets, have set up mainland news and information centers.

(By Sofia Wu)

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