Ministry rebuts US media reports on spying on US

By Jason Pan / Staff reporter





The Ministry of National Defense yesterday denied allegations in the US media that US Navy Lieutenant Commander Edward Lin sold military secrets to Taiwan and China.

Ministry spokesman Major-General David Lo (羅紹和) said the reports had no factual basis.

“The defense ministry does not engage in espionage and intelligence-gathering activities in the US by using retired US military personnel or those in active service,” Lo said.

When asked about a US media report that Lin had been in Taiwan as part of an official delegation and had paid a visit to the ministry, Lo said: “We have investigated the matter and our information showed that this particular US naval officer did not visit the defense ministry.”

“Some US news reports also quoted an unnamed US official as saying that Lin had been in touch with a Taiwanese military officer, a colonel surnamed Kao (高), who was based in the US at the time. We do not have such an officer in the US. We had a lieutenant colonel surnamed Kao there, but he has retired,” Lo said.

He added that the citation from an anonymous US official is groundless speculation.

“The US has not contacted us for information, nor has it requested assistance from the ministry in the investigation; as such, we are not aware of the details of the case,” Lo said.