Lin Chung-pin, a former deputy minister of national defense, was interviewed not long ago by a noted American magazine, Defense News.An article titled “Spies and Sighs” quotes him as telling a shocking story.
Dr. Lin estimates Chinese spies working under cover in Taiwan at some 5,000.That, of course, isn’t shocking.What’s shocking is his encounter with a taxi driver in Taipei he identifies as a Chinese agent who publicly claims he is.Lin wasn’t the deputy defense minister, then.He told a Defense News correspondent he was riding that cab, whose driver trotted out a number of secrets in his face.The cabby spoke excellent Mandarin and even said he was a Chinese agent from Shandong.That story was confirmed by Vice President Annette Lu.Later, both she and Dr. Lin reported their finding to the Military Intelligence Bureau of the Ministry of National Defense.They were told the counterintelligence people had that Chinese spy under control.What happened to the Chinese agent was not reported.
Now the question is that Dr. Lin, after he was given the number two spot in the Ministry of National Defense, tried to find out who that Chinese spy was.In his new capacity, he could easily get the whole story about the self-appointed agent from China.The vice president could do the same.If they didn’t, they would be aiding and abetting the Chinese spy.If they did and told Defense Newseverything, the American magazine was to blame for not telling the whole truth.Any responsible reporter wouldn’t and couldn’t afford to withhold the concluding part of a story.
There is another possibility.The self-styled spy was a fake.Or he might be a megalomaniac or schizophrenic.He might think he was an undercover agent doing a great job in Taipei for his imaginary boss in Beijing.If that be the case, the polite, non-committal response the counterespionage authorities gave Dr. Lin makes much more sense.After all, no spy in his sane mind will admit to anybody that he is trying to steal national secrets.
We are curious to know if Defense News really had a reporter who couldn’t pass judgment on a story as told by the man he interviewed. Did the reporter believe what he was told? Didn’t a copy reader question the authenticity of the source?What’s the purpose of the interview?It’s no story at all if the magazine just wanted to tell its readers there are 5,000 Chinese spies in Taiwan.Everybody knows China has posted a large number of uncover agents in Taiwan, albeit it’s anybody’s guess exactly how many of them are here on this island.Similarly, Taiwan has deployed perhaps just as many agents in China.Even allies have agents working in each other’s capital.The CIA knows who our agents in Washington are.So we do about undercover American agents in Taipei.
（本文刊載於96.05.07 China Post第4版，本文代表作者個人意見）