Intern a communist member: report

COMMUNIST YOUTH LEAGUE: Taiwanese netizens have found ‘China Times’ intern Han Fu-yu listed as a ‘director’ of the Chinese league’s student committee, a report said

By Sean Lin / Staff reporter





Netizens yesterday challenged the Chinese-language China Times’ claim that its intern, Han Fu-yu (韓福宇), is not a member of the Communist Youth League of China (CYL).

The league, tasked with the mission to promote communism, has long been regarded as a training ground for promising political talent. Notable members include Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (李克強) and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee member Hu Chunhua (胡春華).

The China Times on Tuesday issued a statement defending Han, after the Legislative Yuan pressed charges against the intern for throwing water balloons at Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers during a joint committee review of the budget for the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program on Wednesday last week.

"China Times" intern Han Fu-yu is pictured in an undated photograph posted online by a Taiwanese Internet user on Tuesday, showing that Han is a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Communist Youth League, despite a denial issued by the Chinese-language newspaper earlier that day. Photo: Screen grab from the Internet

Han, a Taiwanese student and recipient of a scholarship from Beijing’s Communication University of China, could not possibly be a CCP spy, as he is not a member of the Communist Youth League, the China Times statement said.

However, Taiwanese online news Web site Newtalk yesterday reported that Taiwanese netizens have found Han’s name and photograph on the school’s Web site — in a section where student members of the league are shown — and shared the discovery on Facebook. ‘

Han is listed as a “director” of the league’s student committee, with an insignia of the league shown on the top of the page, the report said.

The disclosure went viral and drew an influx of online comments, with many netizens criticizing Han’s apparent affiliation with the league.

“He took selfies throwing balloons at DPP lawmakers, so he can go back to China to claim his reward,” a netizen said.

“Being a member of the league, [he] won’t have problem joining the CCP. A bright future awaits,” another said.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) yesterday expressed amazement at the turn of events, saying it was something he “could not have imagined.”

“If true, the China Times should explain whether it knew of Han’s identity before bringing him into the legislature,” Lin said.

DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said that one does not need to be a member of the league to be a spy for China, adding that league members are usually given political assignments.

He urged prosecutors to promptly ascertain Han’s identity.

Han has previously denied being a league member, saying that he had only been a member of the China Young Volunteers.

According to the China Young Volunteers Web site, it is a spinoff of the CYL.

China Young Volunteers’ articles of association said it is under the CYL’s direct supervision.