In article . net,
says...
Kerry Took Cash From Chinese Military Intelligence

Oh really? How about citing some sources, like below...


TAIWAN-GATE: Do We Have Bush-Appointed Foreign Agents
Influencing our Foreign Policy?

In an ever-widening scandal involving a Taiwan government secret "slush
fund," the purpose of which was to covertly influence other countries'
(including the United States and Japan) politics, leaked Taiwan
government documents name two Bush appointees as receiving money from
this "slush fund" for services including convincing Bush to agree to
$4billion worth of sophisticated arms sales to Taiwan. (#3: Source)

Carl Ford, appointed by GWBush to assistant secretary of defense for
intelligence and research, and James Kelly, appointed by GWBush to
assistant secretary of state for East Asia, are the American officials
named as being "paid off" to covertly influence U.S. politics. Their
efforts included accepting millions from this secret slush-fund, and it
appears that this money may have been, at least in part, funneled by
contributions made by Carl Ford (while working for a Washington PR firm,
Cassidy and Associates) to the GWBush presidential campaign and the
Republican National Committee. (#3: Source) (#7: Source)

In eye-opening revelations which have shocked Taiwan, and set Washington
panicking over the "radioactive" political fall-out from these covert
Taiwanese efforts (aided by Bush "administration" officials) to
influence American politics (#3: Source):

The "slush fund" was set up by Taiwan's ex-president Lee Teng-hui
through the Taiwan National Security Bureau. Lee, although no longer
president, is still very active in Taiwan politics.(#4: Source)
It is reported that there were two secret slush funds which contained NT
$3.5 billion.(#2: Source)
The purpose of these two slush funds was to buy political favors
overseas, including in the United States and Japan.(#5: Source)
Carl Ford, as a "key player" in Cassidy and Associates, was paid from
this secret slush fund, and is said to have played a "pivotal role," as
Bush's appointed assistant secretary of defense for intelligence and
research, in convincing Bush to allow the $4billion sale of
sophisticated arms to Taiwan. He is said to have been paid
"handsomely," according to leaked Taiwan government documents. (#5:
Source)
Carl Ford, an ex-CIA official and a former prominent defense official in
the Reagan/Bush Sr. administrations, was also a lobbyist for General
Dynamics (specifically for the sale of sophisticated arms to Taiwan).
General Dynamics stood to greatly benefit from the sale of submarines to
Taiwan; the submarines would be built in a General Dynamics' company's
shipyards.(#10: Source)
Carl Ford is noted as a Cassidy and Associates' "key player." When
Cassidy and Associates was hired by General Dynamics (owner of Bath Iron
Works where the destroyers to be sold to Taiwan would be built), Cassidy
conceived of and drafted the letter sent by U.S. Senator Trent Lott
(Republican) to President Clinton. This letter basically held hostage
congressional approval of permanent normal trade relations with China
until Clinton approved the weapons sale, to which President Clinton was
strongly opposed. (#10: Source)
Carl Ford, as a "key player" in Cassidy and Associates, was direclty
involved (in addition to the covert money they received from the Taiwan
slush fund) in acknowledged, contracted PR work for Taiwan interests.
Again, the one of the specific goals was to influence America to sell
Taiwan $4billion worth of sophisticated arms. (#10: Source)
Carl Ford, when testifying before Congress and trying to convince them
to sell arms to Taiwan, was said to be "from the Heritage Foundation."
The Heritage Foundation is a rightwing group, funded in part by Richard
Mellon Scaife, and led by rightwing power-broker Paul Weyrich. (#13:
Source) (#8: Source) (#12: Source)
Carl Ford, a GWBush appointee to a very influential position, while a
"key player" for Cassidy and Associates, had already been involved in
another lobbying scandal in Taiwan. This scandal included Cassidy's
attempts to coverup the identities of those companies and lobbyists
providing public-relations and lobbying services for Taiwan in Taiwan's
efforts to get the U.S. government to pass the bill which would allow
America to sell sophisticated arms to Taiwan.(#9: Source)
Carl Ford was a "key player" in the Washington PR firm, Cassidy and
Associates, which contracted with Taiwan organizations to represent
Taiwan's interests in Washington. Cassidy and Associates also received
money from the secret Taiwan slush fund, the purpose of which was to
covertly influence other countries' politics. It is of note, then, that
the head of Cassidy and Associates met with Taiwan's then-president Lee
Teng-hui (who started the Taiwan slush fund) where plans were made to
lobby then-Texas-governor Bush because Bush was seen as the most
promising presidential candidate. The purpose, again, was to convince
GWBush, if he became president, to allow America to sell sophisticated
arms to Taiwan. It is noteworthy that, indeed, GWBush, once in the Oval
Office, was a vocal proponent for allowing America to sell sophisticated
arms to Taiwan. The Taiwan slush-fund's efforts paid off when American
policy was changed such that sophisticated arms are now permitted to be
sold to Taiwan. (#6: Source)
How important was GWBush-appointee Carl Ford to Taiwan? Ford was said to
be an important Taiwan lobbyist who was allegedly wined and dined to the
tune of NT$400,000 in late 1999 and early 2000 by the Lee Teng-hui
Taiwan administration.(#3: Source)
Cassidy and Associates received millions from this Taiwan secret slush
fund. Carl Ford, described as a "key player" at Cassidy, in turn
donated millions of dollars to the GWBush presidential campaign and to
the Republican National Committee.(#7: Source)
James Kelly came directly from heading the Richard Mellon Scaife-funded
Pacific Forum (connected to the military-industry "think-tank," Centre
for Strategic and International Studies, or "CSIS") to being appointed
by GWBush as assistant secretary of state to East Asia. While heading
the Pacific Forum, Kelly is said to have "shuffled funds" between
Taiwan's slush funds and Japan. (#3: Source)
In addition, Kelly is reported to have accepted donations from Taiwan
for CSIS' Pacific Forum. That's right: Kelly came directly from being
responsible to accepting money from Taiwan interests to being appointed
by GWBush to a key government position in which Kelly would be a chief
policy maker for Asia. (#7: Source)
The Taiwan news publications who originally broke the Taiwan slush-fund
story had their offices raided by Taiwan government officials who called
the publications traitors and treasonous. This has triggered a huge
outcry over free-speech rights in Taiwan, and further embroiled the
government in scandal and now accusations of repression of reports of
illegal activities. (#1: Source)
The three leaked Taiwan government documents about the secret slush fund
are reported to contain:
1) Details about Taiwan's unofficial "slush-fund" diplomatic maneuvers
in the US, including the meeting between the originator of the slush-
fund, Taiwan's ex-president Lee, and the head of Cassidy and Associates,
a Washington PR group, with the goal of influencing then-Texas-governor
GWBush in the even that Bush should he become president;
2) A second document identifies Carl W. Ford, now Bush-appointed
assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research in the Bush
administration, as an important figure in Taiwan's lobbying efforts
(covert and registered), the paper said.
3) The third document records visits by Carl Ford to Taiwan's NSB in
November 1999 and March 2000, the paper said, adding that the NSB spent
more than NT$400,000 entertaining Ford during the visits. (#6: Source)
How bad is it going to be for America, thanks to these two Bush
appointees' covert actions on behalf of the Taiwan government? These
Bush appointees, in the headlines of an important Taipei newspaper, are
reported to be "tainted lobbyists." TAINTED. Bush-appoinated American
officials are said to be TAINTED. (#3: Source)
What will be the American political fall-out from these TAINTED
lobbyists? Consider this: The current Taiwan presidential senior
advisor, Yao Chia-wen, who recently came to the Washington for two days
of meetings with U.S. think tanks and congressional aides to find out
what the fallout will be from this scandal, received in these meetings
the message, "Fear what is to come." Think-tank scholars voiced concern
that as new names are made public, those who speak out in favor of
Taiwan may be suspected of having "sold out" as potential recipients of
some of the NT$3.5 billion in money allegedly set aside in two secret
slush funds intended to buy political favors overseas. The fears of the
Washington congressional aids and think-tank personnel is that if anyone
in any way represents Taiwan's agenda, they will become "radioactive"
and a Washington pariah.(#3: Source)
How will this impact the U.S.-Taiwan relations? TERRIBLY. It already
has. The revelations have damaged Taiwan-American relations, even
forcing Taiwan to suspend some programs: "The exposures of such secret
payments to key US politicians by the island's National Security Bureau
(NSB) in the past week by Hongkong and Taiwan media has damaged Taiwan's
image and hurt its exchanges with the United States, according to
government officials and analysts. 'The exposure of these secret funds
of the NSB has created a big problem to our diplomatic work,' said
Foreign Minister Eugene Chien yesterday. Taiwan's deputy representative
to the US, Mr Tsai Ming-hsien, admitted that a number of semi-official
and official exchange programmes between Taiwan and the US have been
suspended." (#7: Source). In addition, former Taiwan president Lee (who
is said to have set up the Taiwanese slush funds) canceled a trip to the
United States because, Taiwan newspapers speculate, he did not want to
have to face the American media's questions. (#14: Source)

COMMENT: So we see that America is, once again, humiliated by GWBush's
tainted appointees. This time, however, there appears to be the
possibility that Bush's appointees, indeed, served as money-launderers
for the Republican National Committee and the GWBush presidential
campaign. Certainly, with Bush's tainted appointees, and their reported
role as being "pivotal" in Bush's decision to sell $4billion worth of
sophisticated arms to Taiwan, it should bring into question whether
America's best interests were served in this decision, or were the best
interests of GWBush's Taiwan slush-fund contributors actually that which
were being served?

It also brings under new consideration the opposition of the Republican
Party and GWBush to any form of campaign finance reform. If they are,
indeed, receiving illegal campaign funds from a Taiwanese covert slush-
fund, they would hardly be likely to ever back accountability for
legitimate campaign donations.

In addition, this ugly Taiwan-U.S.-Bush-Appointee campaign-finance
scandal brings up another question which Americans, and Congress, must
address: what are the implications of having GWBush in the Oval Office
if he has received such considerable illegal campaign contributions from
a covert Taiwan slush fund? And what does his appointment of two men
highly involved in the distribution of the Taiwan slush-fund monies have
to say about the "honor and integrity" he promised to bring to the White
House?

Finally, we must consider the conflict-of-interest-laden appointments
GWBush has made, including that of Army Secretary Thomas White, who is
now under at least three investigations for his unethical conduct since
he was appointed by GWBush. Who is it that GWBush is really serving: the
American people or his campaign contributors? And can America stand the
damage it will incur as GWBush seeks to fulfill the quid pro quos he
owes to his campaign funders (both acknowledged, like Enron, and covert,
like apparently the Taiwanese secret slush fund)?

For details and references to the reported facts, stated above, go to
The Players.

For links to all of the sources referenced in this article and in "The
Players," go to Links.



THE PLAYERS


President Lee Teng-hui: Former president of Taiwan, alleged to have set
up the two $3.5billion secret slush funds to pay for covert foreign
activities, such as spy networks in China, and other overseas secret
operations, including personal projects. Although he stood down as
president two years ago, Lee is still active in politics, and is
currently the "spiritual leader" of the Taiwan Solidarity Union, a pro-
independence political party, formed last year, that did well in last
December's parliamentary elections. (Slush Scandal Blows Taiwan Spy
Cover). Since the slush-fund scandal broke, Lee canceled a scheduled
trip to the United States, where he was to speak before the National
Press Club in Washington. A vague excuse was given regarding "health
reasons," butTaiwan newspapers speculate that the trip was canceled
because Lee does not want to face questions from the American press.
(Rumors Fly as Lee Cancels U.S. Trip)




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National Security Bureau: The Taiwan entity that created the slush fund.



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George W. Bush: (for more information, see Carl Ford, James Kelly,
Cassidy and Associates.

1) Vocally supported and approved the $4billion sale of sophisticated
arms to Taiwan, even though it angered mainland China and risked a
breach in U.S.-China relations. (China Protest Over Arms for Taiwan)

2) Appointed Carl Ford (ex-CIA official, ex-Reagan/BushSr.
administration official, former Taiwan lobbyist focusing on getting
sophisticated weapons for Taiwan from the U.S., implicated in receiving
money from a $3.5billion Taiwan secret "slush fund" which was created to
fund covert influencing of other governments internationally, including
the U.S. and Japan, former lobbyist for General Dynamics which was
pushing for U.S. approval for submarines for Taiwan because General
Dynamics would be the ones to build them) as assistant secretary of
defense for intelligence and research. (TAINTED LOBBIESTS: Fallout From
Spy Case Hits Washington.)

3) Received millions in contributions from Cassidy and Associates/Carl
Ford for his presidential campaign at a time when Cassidy and
Associates, coincidentally, was receiving millions from Taiwan's covert
slush funds to influence America to sell Taiwan arms, and to influence
then-Texas-governor Bush who was viewed the most likely candidate to win
at that time. (US official 'given Taiwan slush money'; Leaked documents
reveal America's chief policymaker on Asia, James Kelly, received money
as head of a think-tank)

4) Is reported to have been the target of lobbying efforts by Cassidy
and Associates/Carl Ford who were said to have been "handsomely paid"
from this Taiwan covert slush fund to convince Bush to allow $4billion
worth of sophisticated arms to be sold to Taiwan. (Taiwan's money
diplomacy: Senior US and Japanese officials were allegedly PAID for
their influence) Ford, who was appointed by Bush to assistant secretary
of defense for intelligence and research, is said to have "played a
pivotal role" in convincing Bush to do what Taiwan wanted. (Bush Says
'Give it a Rest').

5) Appointed James Kelly to assistant secretary of state of East Asia;
Kelly is accused of "shuffling funds" from Taiwan's secret slush fund
(the purpose of which was to covertly influence other countries'
governments) between Taiwan and Japan when he headed the Pacific
Forum/CSIS. (TAINTED LOBBYISTS: Fallout From Spy Case Hits Washington).
Kelly headed the Pacific Forum until he was appointed assistant
secretary of state by GWBush. That's right: Kelly went straight from
receiving slush-fund money from Taiwan to a GWBush appointment. "When Mr
Kelly was made assistant secretary of state by Mr Bush in 2001, he ended
his role as the Forum's president." (US official 'given Taiwan slush
money'; Leaked documents reveal America's chief policymaker on Asia,
James Kelly, received money as head of a think-tank).



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Carl Ford:

1) Bush appointee, now assistant secretary of defense for intelligence
and research. (TAINTED LOBBYISTS: Fallout From Spy Case Hits
Washington.)

2) Ford, a Republican, is a former CIA official.(TAINTED LOBBYISTS:
Fallout From Spy Case Hits Washington.)

3) Ford was a senior defense official under the Bush Sr. administration.
(TAINTED LOBBYISTS: Fallout From Spy Case Hits Washington.)

4) Ford was said to be an important Taiwan lobbyist who was allegedly
wined and dined to the tune of NT$400,000 in late 1999 and early 2000 by
the Lee Teng-hui administration. (TAINTED LOBBYISTS: Fallout From Spy
Case Hits Washington.)

5) Ford, along with James Kelly (below), is referred to in a recent
Taipei newspaper, in the title of the article, as "tainted lobbyists"
TAINTED LOBBYITS: Fallout From Spy Case Hits Washington.)

6) Two months before an important trip to China in November 1999, Ford
describes himself as a consultant for Taiwan Research Institute which
contracted with the public-relations firm, Cassidy and Associates.
Cassidy was a key lobbying effort for increasing sales of weapons to
Taiwan. "Two months before Ford's alleged November 1999 trip to Taiwan
described in an article in Hong Kong's Sing Tao newspaper earlier this
week, which described the lavish entertainment Ford received, he wrote a
letter to the editor of The New York Times in which he was described as
a consultant for the Taiwan Research Institute, whose public relations
firm, Cassidy and Associates, was a key lobbyist for increased US arms
sales to Taiwan."(TAINTED LOBBYISTS: Fallout From Spy Case Hits
Washington). For an example of the kind of efforts Carl Ford put forth
for his Taiwanese money-givers, read Pentagon Report Makes a Case for
Aegis Sale to Taiwan.

7) In March 1999, Ford testified before the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, with an extensive statement on cross-strait relations and
urging Congress to "lean on" the White House to support Taiwan's
position on maintaining a "state-to-state" relationship with mainland
China, instead of the "one-China" position taken by mainland China
(TAINTED LOBBYISTS: Fallout From Spy Case Hits Washington).

8) Carl Ford was a consultant for Cassidy and Associates (a Washington
public-relations company). This PR firm received regular funding from
the Taiwan slush fund in exchange for their efforts in influencing
American politics to do what Taiwan wanted. Cassidy and Associates
received $1.5million from this slush fund annually. It appears that Ford
may then have contributed this money to GWBush's campaign and the RNC.
It sounds like money laundering to me! "Mr Carl Ford, now US Assistant
Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research, was a consultant for
US PR firm Cassidy and Associates, when he allegedly donated funds to
the Bush camp when the US president was running for office, according to
Sing Tao. The PR firm, which had received an annual payment of US$1.5
million from the slush fund, had been hired to lobby on behalf of
Taiwan, Sing Tao said. The paper said Mr Ford had made six contributions
ranging from US$1 million to US$1.75 million to Mr Bush's camp and the
Republican National Council between 1999 and 2000." (US official 'given
Taiwan slush money'; Leaked documents reveal America's chief policymaker
on Asia, James Kelly, received money as head of a think-tank)


9) Ford is reported by a Hong Kong newspaper as being "paid" for covert
influencing of American politics, specifically to get Bush to sell arms
to Taiwan. In fact, Ford in particular was said to have been paid
"handsomely." "In another project known as Ming Hua, the Hongkong
newspaper said that large amounts of money were paid to a Washington-
based public relations firm, Cassidy and Associates, for its lobbying
efforts at the US government and Congress. Mr Lee reportedly used money
from the slush funds to host visits to Taiwan by Mr Carl W. Ford, a top
executive of Cassidy and Associates. The visits allegedly took place
between 1999 and 2000 when Mr Lee was still in power. Mr Ford later
joined the administration of President George W. Bush as Assistant US
Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research, thus playing a pivotal
role in persuading Mr Bush to approve a US$4 billion worth of a maments
for Taiwan last year, the newspaper added. Last Wednesday, both China
Times and Next Magazine also reported about Taiwan's paying Cassidy
handsomely each year to lobby for the island." (Taiwan's money
diplomacy: Senior US and Japanese officials were allegedly PAID for
their influence).


10) Carl Ford, when he testified before Congress, doing Taiwan's covert
bidding and attempting to influence Congress to allow sales of arms to
Taiwan, was said to be with the Heritage Foundation "China is developing
a huge missile arsenal in what appears to be a plan to launch a massive
first strike to conquer neighboring Taiwan, a U.S. Senate committee was
told.Carl Ford Jr. of the Heritage Foundation and a leading China expert
told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday that Beijing is
increasing its missile capability with new models, including the M-9 and
M-11. He pointed to a Pentagon report that by 2005 China will have an
overwhelming advantage of Taiwan in offensive missiles." (China
Developing First-Strike Capabilities Against Taiwan: Expert (THE WORLD
TRIBUNE, 03/27/1999))

[[NOTE: The Heritage Foundation is also funded by Richard Mellon Scaife,
and run by ultra-conservative power-broker Paul Weyrich.]]

11) Carl Ford is noted as being a "key player" for Cassidy and
Associates at the time when Cassidy was hired by General Dynamics (owner
of Bath Iron Works where the destroyers to be sold to Taiwan would be
built). Cassidy conceived of and drafted the letter sent by Senator
Trent Lott to President Clinton. This letter basically held hostage
congressional approval of permanent normal trade relations with China
until Clinton approved the weapons sale, which Clinton was against. "And
they are working hard to make their case. General Dynamics, owner of
Bath Iron Works where the destroyers would be built, hired Cassidy and
Associates, whose key player is former Reagan defense official Carl
Ford, to lobby for the sale. Cassidy, which also has a $10 million
contract with a Taiwan thinktank with close ties to the ruling party,
conceived of and drafted a letter sent to President Clinton by Senate
Majority Leader Trent Lott and two other Republican Senators that
implied that congressional approval of permanent normal trade relations
with China was contingent on the White House's prompt approval of the
weapons sale." (Bush Says 'Give it a Rest')



12) This is not the first time Carl Ford has been involved in a lobbying
scandal regarding Taiwan. Ford, while with Cassidy and Associates, was
paid to lobby for the TSEA (Taiwan Strategic Enhancement Act). This info
was disclosed after first documents were filed in the U.S. Lobby
Disclosure Act Office that indicated Sandwick International had been
contracted by Taiwan for $2million to lobby for the TSEA. Cassidy
supposedly ended its lucrative ($10million) six-year contract with the
Taiwan Research Institute, only to immediately pick up the Taiwan Study
Institute, with a $2million contract. This was funded by Makoto Bank in
Taiwan, whose chairman sid that the TRI was not lobbying for TSEA and
that there was no "political linkage." However, documents (required by
the Lobby Disclosure Act, registering all foreign lobbyists) filed with
the American government indicate that Cassidy had merged with Sandwick
International last year, and the contract between TSI and Sandwick was
registered under the names "Sandwick Public Affairs, Boland & Madigan
Inc, and Cassidy and Associates; Ford is identified as one of the
lobbyists. The issues to be represented by these three companies include
Taiwan's defense and the TSEA. "A notice filed with the Lobby Disclosure
Act Office on Capitol Hill on July 5 disclosed that Taiwan will pay US$2
million to Sandwick International for a one year contract to lobby for
the Taiwan Security Enhancement Act (TSEA). Politicians in Washington
are eager to find out the real story behind filing notice.This is the
first time that a US lobbying firm has publicly said that TSEA -- which
has been strongly opposed by the Clinton Administration but has already
been passed by the House -- would be its specific lobby issue. "No
matter what the intention behind this contract is, one has to wonder
what the government in Taipei really wants people to believe."
.........The story, first reported by the Washington Post last Thursday,
indicated that Cassidy & Associates had ended its lucrative, six-year
long contract with the Taiwan Research Institute (TRI) for which it was
paid a total sum of about US$10 million. Cassidy, however, quickly
picked up the Taiwan Study Institute (TSI) as another generous Taiwanese
client with a contract worth US$2 million, funded by Makoto Bank in
Taiwan. The chairman of Makoto Bank, Chen J. Lin , said in a press
conference that the institute was not interesting in lobbying for TSEA
and that "there isn't any political linkage." However, official
documents filed with the US government tell a different story from Lin's
version.All foreign lobbyists are required by law to register either
with the US Department of Justice or the Lobby Disclosure Act office on
Capitol Hill. Cassidy & Associates merged with Sandwick International
last year and the contract between TSI and Sandwick has since been
registered under the names of Sandwick Public Affairs, Boland & Madigan
Inc and Cassidy & Associates, Inc.The record has identified about 20
lobbyists, including Carl Ford, a former Defense Department Asia
specialist. Lobbyists from the above three firms are supposed to lobby
in the areas of defense, foreign relations and trade. TSEA has also been
listed as a specific lobby issue.There is speculation in Washington
about the real purpose of the TSI contract. The contract signed between
TRI and Cassidy in 1994 for US$1.5 million a year stirred things up in
Washington and the Taiwan Strait, following successful lobbying in
Congress to force the Clinton Administration to grant a visa to then-
President Lee Teng-hui . Based on the file kept by the Department of
Justice, the Taiwan Research Institute agreed to pay US$162,500 per
month to Cassidy to extend the contract from July 1, 1997 to June 30,
2000. The purpose of this contract was to "assist the TRI in advancing
the appreciation of Taiwan's history, cultural uniqueness and democratic
development." (Lobbying Firm Draws Fi MONEY FOR INFLUENCE: The
controversy surrounding the hiring of companies to lobby on behalf of
Taiwan in the US may grow with the recent revelation that a new firm has
been hired specifically to push the Taiwan Security Enhancement Act.)





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Cassidy and Associates: (for more information, see Carl Ford, above).

1) A Washington public-relations firm which has been implicated in
receiving money from a $3.5billion slush fund in Taiwan. The express
purpose of this fund was to covertly influence other countries' politics
(including the United States and Japan). In addition, Cassidy may
possibly have passed on this slush-fund money to the GWBush campaign and
the Republican National Committee. Carl Ford used to work for Cassidy
and Associates, and he is described as having been a "key player." (US
official 'given Taiwan slush money'; Leaked documents reveal America's
chief policymaker on Asia, James Kelly, received money as head of a
think-tank)

2) The head of Cassidy and Associates met with Taiwan's then-president
Lee Teng-hui (who is said to have set up the Taiwan slush funds) where
plans were made to lobby then-Texas-governor Bush because he was seen as
the most promising presidential candidate (see #3, below).

3) Taiwan spends more than $7million in lobbying in Washington. "One of
the documents details a 1998 meeting in a Taipei restaurant between then
president Lee Teng-hui and the head of the US public relations firm
Cassidy and Associates, in which plans were drawn up to lobby then Texas
governor George W. Bush, who was seen as the most promising candidate
for the US presidency. The document also reveals that Taiwan spends more
than US$7 million on lobbying efforts in Washington, the paper said."
(Hong Kong Paper Prints Slush Fund Secrets)




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James Kelly:

1) Bush appointee, now the assistant secretary of state of East Asia; he
is accused of "shuffling funds" (sounds like "money-laundering" to me)
between Taiwan and Japan when he headed the Pacific Forum. "Kelly was
alleged to have been involved in shuffling funds from Taiwan to Japan
when he was head of the Honolulu-based Pacific Forum of the George
Washington University's Center for Strategic and International
Studies," (TAINTED LOBBYISTS: Fallout From Spy Case Hits Washington).

2) James Kelly is said to have accepted donations from Taiwan for the
military-industry-connected CSIS' Pacific Forum. "America's chief Asia
policymaker, James Kelly, allegedly accepted donations from Taiwan for a
think-tank he once headed. The revelation is made in the latest leak
from classified documents related to a slush fund which Taiwan
established to finance its money diplomacy......In the latest spill,
Hongkong's Sing Tao Daily, citing classified documents it obtained which
carry the signature of former NSB Director Ting Yu-chou, alleged that
the Pacific Forum, then headed by Mr Kelly, had regularly received
donations from a slush fund supervised by NSB. The Forum is under the
Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington
think-tank with close ties to the US military establishment." (US
official 'given Taiwan slush money'; Leaked documents reveal America's
chief policymaker on Asia, James Kelly, received money as head of a
think-tank)
[[NOTE: CSIS is funded by Richard Mellon Scaife: WPost: Funding Father
of the Right ]]

3) James Kelly headed the Pacific Forum until he was appointed assistant
secretary of state by GWBush. That's right: Kelly went straight from
receiving slush money from Taiwan to a GWBush appointment in which Kelly
would be the chief Asia policy maker. "When Mr Kelly was made assistant
secretary of state by Mr Bush in 2001, he ended his role as the Forum's
president." (US official 'given Taiwan slush money'; Leaked documents
reveal America's chief policymaker on Asia, James Kelly, received money
as head of a think-tank).



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Colonel Liu Kuan-chun: A former chief cashier at Taiwan's National
Security Bureau who had first-hand knowledge of the country's spies and
informers; alleged to have leaked the information about president Lee's
slush fund. Liu is thought to have fled Taiwan in September 2000 amid
allegations he embezzled US$5.5million from the slush fund. He is still
on the run. Some analysts believe the colonel is leaking the documents
to ward off the Taiwanese security services that are trying to track him
down. Other analysts believe that there are others, not Liu, who are
behind the leaks. (Slush Scandal Blows Taiwan Spy Cover).



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"Taiwan's China Times" daily; "Next Magazine." The two publications that
broke the story about the two NT$3.5-billion (S$183 million) funds
secretly set up by former president Lee Teng-hui to finance the island's
covert dealings with other countries, including the United States and
Japan. For their efforts, their offices were raided by Taiwan officials
and they were called traitors.



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The Sing Tao Daily: The Hong Kong newspaper that printed the details of
documents obtained about the secret NSB slush fund. The first three
documents it revealed documented: a) Taiwan's unofficial "slush-fund"
diplomatic maneuvers in the US, including the meeting between the
originator of the slush-fund, Taiwan's ex-president Lee, and the head of
Cassidy and Associates, a Washington PR group, with the goal of
influencing then-Texas-governor GWBush should he become president; b) A
second document identifies Carl W. Ford, now assistant secretary of
state for intelligence and research in the Bush administration, as an
important figure in Taiwan's lobbying efforts; c) The third document
records visits by Ford to Taiwan's NSB in November 1999 and March 2000,
and during these visits the NSB spent more than NT$400,000 entertaining
Ford. (Hong Kong Paper Prints Slush Fund Secrets).





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--------


President Chen Shui-bian: Head of the current Taiwan government;
president of the Democratic Progressive Party (Slush Scandal Blows
Taiwan Spy Cover).



------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------


Chang Siao-yue: Spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA),
who stated these kind of leaks "affect and damage how we conduct
international relations". Specifically, the revelations, true or not,
will make Taiwan's foreign contacts think twice before providing the
island with information for fear their names could end up being leaked
to the media.(Slush Scandal Blows Taiwan Spy Cover)




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Yao Chia-wen: Current Taiwan Presidential senior advisor who recently
came to the Washington for two days of meetings with U.S. think tanks
and congressional aides to find out what the fallout will be from this
scandal. He received the message, "Fear what is to come." Think tank
scholars voiced concern that as new names are made public, those who
speak out in favor of Taiwan may be suspected of having "sold out" as
potential recipients of some of the NT$3.5 billion in money allegedly
set aside in two secret slush funds intended to buy political favors
overseas. TAINTED LOBBYISTS: Fallout From Spy Case Hits Washington.



UPDATE!




UPDATE 04/05/2002: Salon has published a Taiwangate article (Taiwan
money scandal has White House ties: Bush officials under scrutiny in
influence-peddling intrigue) in their Salon Premium section. (NOTE: If
you don't already belong to Salon Premium, it is very reasonably priced
and a great way to support the publication that has done so much to
provide information, such as the truth about the Scaife-funded
"Whitewater investigation," that we normally would not be able to access
in our American mainstream media.) The Salon article offers some new
information and insight into the evolving Taiwangate scandal.

I've quoted the pertinent information, below, and it is a fascinating
read. Here are the new points/issues raised:

The Salon article covers in more detail, and with more insight into the
American legal requirements, about James Kelly's involvement with
covertly arranging and transfering money to Harvard to pay for a
"fellowship" for an ex-Taiwan defense official (Akiyama). Akiyama has
denied these allegations, and the CSIS/Pacific Forum also initially
denied the allegations, but later revised its story to admit that the
activities had, indeed, occurred. These money-shuffling activities may
have required Kelly to register as a foreign agent, which he did not do.
In addition, in all of the money shuffling going on, apparently $60,000
is unaccounted for. Also, the money Kelly shuffled went to pay for
Akiyama's apartment, etc., so it was not exactly paying tuition at
Harvard but, rather, paying his personal expenses.
The Salon article discusses the impact of Kelly's covert activities on
Taiwan's behalf, discusses how it has embarrassed America
internationally, and raises questions about Kelly's fitness for the job
to which GWBush appointed him: "Others, however, find the revelation
more troubling and possibly more damaging to U.S.-Japan relations.
According to Steven Clemons, co-founder of the Japan Policy Research
Institute, it is understood in Japan that various sorts of gift-giving
and influence-peddling routinely occur. And such practices are tacitly
accepted -- as long as they don't become public. 'But if it comes to the
light of day," says Clemons, "then the rules are different. If Kelly did
this and it comes to light then it's a huge deal. It would mean he's
made himself an agent, a pawn, a fixer for Taiwan in Japan. It would be
extremely embarrassing to the Japanese.'.....But the issue may be less a
matter of lawbreaking than of Kelly's fitness for his job with the Bush
administration. In his role as assistant secretary of state, Kelly is
now responsible for America's diplomatic relations with both those
countries -- as well as relations with Taiwan's arch-rival, the People's
Republic of China. 'What's most disturbing,' says Clemons, 'is that it's
a lesson to the Japanese that our rhetoric about transparency is a lot
of hot air, that our system is just as embedded in mutual obligation,
greasing the wheel, and international nepotism. It lowers our moral edge
and raises questions about Jim Kelly's judgment.'"
The Salon article also discusses the fact that Ford's money is said to
come directly from the Taiwan slush fund and, indeed, Ford visited the
source of the slush fund to obtain money. In addition, Sing Tao (a
Taiwan newspaper), not only did Cassidy and Associates believe GWBush
was the most promising presidential candidate, and that Cassidy intended
to recruit some of Bush's friends: "But NSB documents show that the
money Ford received actually came from the secret accounts controlled by
the NSB. Ford was entertained during visits to Taiwan with money from
the NSB secret accounts, and actually visited NSB headquarters on March
20, 2000, to discuss Taiwan's relations with China and his efforts to
secure arms sales to Taiwan. According to Hong Kong IMail -- the
English-language sister publication of Sing Tao -- a Taiwanese liaison
assigned to work with Ford's firm told President Lee at a briefing in
December 1999 that 'Cassidy & Associates regarded George W. Bush, Texas
governor at the time, as the best candidate in the presidential race and
that his lobbying outfit intended to recruit some of Bush's friends.'"
The following is the pertinent section from the Salon article.

(begin quote) "The most serious allegations concern Assistant Secretary
of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James A. Kelly, America's
chief diplomat for Asia and the Pacific Rim. One of the projects
described in the secret NSB documents was an effort by Taiwanese
officials to provide cash payments to officials of the Japanese
government in exchange for their help in bringing Taiwan under a
proposed American missile defense shield. In at least one instance Kelly
helped NSB officials secretly transfer funds to a vice minister of the
Japanese Defense Agency, Masahiro Akiyama, after Akiyama was forced to
resign from the government because of a defense procurement scandal.
But, according to Japan policy experts, Kelly's apparent help in
facilitating a Taiwanese payoff of a prominent Japanese politician may
create an embarrassing situation for American diplomats in their
dealings with Japan. Lawrence Korb, a former Reagan administration
Defense Department official now at the Council on Foreign Relations,
told Salon he didn't think Kelly's actions were "business as usual" but
nonetheless defended Kelly's intentions. "Jim Kelly is as honest as the
day is long," said Korb. "I'm sure that he was trying to help someone
who got in an awkward situation and was trying to get the money where it
needed to go."
Others, however, find the revelation more troubling and possibly more
damaging to U.S.-Japan relations. According to Steven Clemons, co-
founder of the Japan Policy Research Institute, it is understood in
Japan that various sorts of gift-giving and influence-peddling routinely
occur. And such practices are tacitly accepted -- as long as they don't
become public. "But if it comes to the light of day," says Clemons,
"then the rules are different. If Kelly did this and it comes to light
then it's a huge deal. It would mean he's made himself an agent, a pawn,
a fixer for Taiwan in Japan. It would be extremely embarrassing to the
Japanese."
According to the documents published in the China Times and Sing Tao
Daily, Taiwanese officials gave small cash gifts to senior members of
the Japanese government to gain their assistance in Taiwan's bid to be
included under America's missile defense shield to protect U.S. allies
in East and Northeast Asia. The officials named in the documents are
then Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto (who reportedly received $10,000)
and Vice Defense Minister Masahiro Akiyama ($2,000). Later, after
Akiyama was forced to resign in November 1998, the NSB rewarded him for
past assistance with $100,000 to support a two-year fellowship for him
to study missile defense issues at Harvard University's Fairbank Center
for East Asian Research.
But funneling the money from the National Security Bureau's secret slush
funds to Harvard, and concealing its source, was a complicated matter.
To do so, according to reports of the documents, the NSB enlisted the
assistance of Peng Run-tzu, the president of the Taiwan Transport
Machinery Corporation. Peng is a close friend of President Lee, often
acting as Lee's personal representative in informal diplomatic contacts
in Japan and the United States. On Dec. 15, 1999, the NSB transferred
$100,000 to Peng. Five days later Peng transferred the money to the bank
account of the Pacific Forum, an adjunct of the Washington-based think
tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies. At the time,
the Pacific Forum was run by James Kelly. The arrangement to transfer
the funds to Harvard to support Akiyama was confirmed when Peng and
Kelly met at a Los Angeles restaurant on Jan. 15, 2000.
Kelly declined repeated requests by Salon to comment on this story.
Akiyama, meanwhile, in a March 27 interview with the China Times, denied
any contact with Taiwanese officials and said his funding came from
Harvard. Yet an investigation into the funds transfer between Taiwan,
Kelly's Pacific Forum, and Harvard raises further questions about
Kelly's role and just what happened to the $100,000 he was reportedly
given for Akiyama's support.
On Monday, CSIS spokesman Jay Farrar told Salon that CSIS has no record
of any such transaction ever taking place. According to Farrar, CSIS's
Pacific Forum has substantial autonomy and is able to earmark for its
own purposes funds that it raises. But the two organizations have a
single set of books and a single budget. In other words, says Farrar,
any transfer should show up on CSIS's books. But apparently they didn't.
CSIS did receive roughly $50,000 in general funding support from Taiwan
in 1999 but the think tank's account books, Farrar told Salon, "do not
show any payments that would correspond" to the transfers of funds
described in the Taiwanese and Hong Kong press -- either of money coming
in from Taiwan or going out to Harvard.
On Thursday morning, however, Farrar revised his earlier statement.
Ralph Cossa, Kelly's deputy in 1999 and the current director of the
Pacific Forum, told Farrar that Peng had asked Kelly to assist Akiyama
in roughly the manner the NSB documents describe. CSIS records show that
Peng gave Pacific Forum $50,000 and that Kelly passed approximately
$40,000 to Harvard, keeping $10,000 for the Pacific Forum. Farrar told
Salon that the December 1999 payment to Pacific Forum was actually one
of four similar payments Peng made to Kelly's organization during the
period in question: $25,000 in July 1998, $25,000 in August 1999, and
$50,000 in June 2000.
Farrar's revised story is supported in part with an account provided to
Salon by officials at Harvard's Fairbank Center on Tuesday. According to
Asia expert and onetime Clinton administration appointee Ezra Vogel, who
was the head of the Fairbank Center at the time, Akiyama applied and was
accepted for a fellowship at the center through the established
selection process. Akiyama was then told, however, that the center could
not provide funds to support his stay. At this point, Kelly entered the
picture. "Other people who knew [Akiyama] gave him some funds" Vogel
initially told Salon. "And I believe that Jim Kelly played a role
getting those funds." Later, Vogel said that Kelly had "arranged to get
the money" for Akiyama's stay at the center but that he was not aware of
the ultimate source of the funds Kelly provided.
Vogel then asked Susan McHone, the center's administrator, to review the
center's records and McHone confirmed to Salon that Kelly had arranged
for a payment of $39,600 from the CSIS Pacific Forum, which Harvard used
to pay for Akiyama's apartment and other miscellaneous expenses during
the first year of his stay at the center. During his second year at the
center, says McHone, Akiyama's expenses were paid by the Arlington, Va.,
office of the Yamada Corporation, a Japanese defense and aerospace
holding company. (A Yamada representative, who declined to provide her
name, did not return a call requesting comment on Yamada's funding of
Akiyama's fellowship.)
The available evidence raises a number of questions. Did Kelly funnel
the funds to support Akiyama through CSIS's Pacific Forum, contrary to
the denials of Akiyama? And if the NSB gave Kelly $100,000, but passed
only $39,600 along to Harvard, what happened to the remaining $60,400?
There's no clear evidence that Kelly's role in the affair would have
violated any American laws. He was not in government at the time. So the
transaction would not be covered by any of the panoply of rules and
regulations covering campaign finance or government ethics. But such an
arrangement might have required Kelly to register with the Justice
Department as a foreign agent, under the Foreign Agents Registration Act
(FARA), something records show he did not do. Marshall Williams,
administrator of the FARA office, declined to "comment on any
particulars or hypotheticals" regarding the FARA law. Williams did draw
attention to the portion of the law that covers any individual who
"disburses, or dispenses contributions, loans, money, or other things of
value for or in the interest of [a] foreign principal." But he was also
at pains to make clear that such a transaction might be exempted under
various other provisions of the statute.
But the issue may be less a matter of lawbreaking than of Kelly's
fitness for his job with the Bush administration. In his role as
assistant secretary of state, Kelly is now responsible for America's
diplomatic relations with both those countries -- as well as relations
with Taiwan's arch-rival, the People's Republic of China.
"What's most disturbing," says Clemons, "is that it's a lesson to the
Japanese that our rhetoric about transparency is a lot of hot air, that
our system is just as embedded in mutual obligation, greasing the wheel,
and international nepotism. It lowers our moral edge and raises
questions about Jim Kelly's judgment."
The other documents raise intriguing -- if less clear -- questions about
the roles played by other U.S. political figures. In documents published
in the China Times and Hong Kong's Sing Tao Daily, Carl W. Ford, who is
now assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research, is
described as a recipient of payments from the NSB in 1999 and 2000. It
was already known that when Ford was a consultant to the Washington firm
Cassidy & Associates he had worked as a lobbyist for the Taiwan Research
Institute, a Taiwanese think tank closely associated with President Lee.
At the time, Ford did register as a foreign agent as required under
American law. Ford declined comment for this story.
But NSB documents show that the money Ford received actually came from
the secret accounts controlled by the NSB. Ford was entertained during
visits to Taiwan with money from the NSB secret accounts, and actually
visited NSB headquarters on March 20, 2000, to discuss Taiwan's
relations with China and his efforts to secure arms sales to Taiwan.
According to Hong Kong IMail -- the English-language sister publication
of Sing Tao -- a Taiwanese liaison assigned to work with Ford's firm
told President Lee at a briefing in December 1999 that "Cassidy &
Associates regarded George W. Bush, Texas governor at the time, as the
best candidate in the presidential race and that his lobbying outfit
intended to recruit some of Bush's friends."
Another set of documents describe how, in 1994, Lee organized a "task
force" charged with cultivating foreign elected officials and deepening
defense contacts with Japan and the United States. Members of the task
force included Lee, Peng, various members of the Taiwanese government
and several high-ranking Japanese politicians and military leaders. But
the names of Wolfowitz, then a dean of the Paul H. Nitze School of
Advanced International Studies, and Kurt Campbell, a deputy assistant
secretary of defense in the Clinton administration, also appear on the
list as members of the task force.
When the NSB documents first surfaced more than two weeks ago it was
widely assumed that they had been leaked by a rogue Taiwanese
intelligence agent. Since then, however, many have come to believe that
the leaks may be tied to infighting between the country's two main
political factions and their disagreements over the country's
relationship with the United States and China. In particular, observers
say, the release of the documents may be an effort to send a warning to
the government, which supports independence from China, and its
supporters in the Bush administration who have pressed in recent months
for closer military ties to the island.
The leaks, says Asia policy expert Chalmers Johnson, appear to be a way
of "reining in the Bush administration. This is a way -- without
crossing them or in any way damaging future ties -- of causing them to
pull back. This is a way of saying to the Americans, 'Back off. Your
policies are far too extreme for what's going on in the world today. And
we are not particularly worried about a Chinese military assault against
the island.'"
Whatever the reasons for document leaks, the Bush administration has not
felt the need to address them, and they have received little attention
except small rumbles in the left-wing U.S. media. (end of quote) (Taiwan
money scandal has White House ties: Bush officials under scrutiny in
influence-peddling intrigue)




------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------


UPDATE 04/05/2002: "The Nation" published a couple of updates on the
Taiwangate scandal. Their new findings a

The CSIS said they had no records of any transactions involving the
Pacific Forum, Harvard University and the former Japanese defense
official (Masahiro Akiyama) who the Taiwan newspapers had been "helped"
in getting a "fellowship" at Harvard (specifically involving transfer of
funds), with the "helper" being James Kelly, now one of the two Bush
appointees who are reported to have received funds from the secret
Taiwan slush funds which were created to secretly fund agents in other
countries in covertly influencing those countries' government and
policies, AND to fund espionage activities in other countries, as well.
Well, what do you know? The CSIS now says that actually the Pacific
Forum DID find the fellowship (at Harvard), and CSIS received quite a
bit of money for their efforts, as well. The Pacific Forum's
spokesperson said that so far they have not bothered to ask James Kelly
about this, nor have they bothered to ask the source of the money (R.T.
Peng, who sits on the Pacific Forum board and who is a close assosicate
of ex-president Lee, who started the slush fund initially) for the
"help" where exactly the money came from.
Quoting "The Nation" article: "The CSIS statement does not note that
Peng sits on the board of the Pacific Forum and has been a close adviser
to former President Lee, helping him particularly in diplomatic matters
concerning Japan. The news accounts out of Taiwan and Hong Kong and
CSIS's accounting records raise the possibility a board member of the
Pacific Forum served as a conduit for money from a government slush fund
used by Lee to do an underhanded favor for a former senior-level
Japanese government official. That ought to merit further attention from
CSIS. And was Kelly aware he was being used in this fashion? His
involvement--and Carl Ford's connection to the scandal--should prompt a
State Department inquiry."
"The Nation" article refers to the WashingtonPost article published
today, in which a Taiwanese official indicated that Taiwan routinely
funded research by U.S. academics on Taiwan and (quoting "The Nation"
article) "...subsidized conferences conducted by U.S. think tanks (such
as the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute), and
paid for trips to Taiwan taken by congressional aides. But the story
does not indicate if all of this activity was supported by the secret
slush fund."
In addition, "The Nation" article notes the outing of Bush official John
Bolton, now undersecretary of state for arms control and international
security in the Bush "administration." Quoting "The Nation": "Bolton
said that in the mid-1990s he received $30,000 from the Taiwan
government to write three research papers on how Taiwan might win its
way back into the United Nations. Bolton defended the payments and said
they would not affect his judgment in office. According to the Post, the
money for these reports came from the slush fund. During the period he
was receiving these payments, Bolton twice testified before Congress in
favor of Taiwan's readmission into the U.N.
It's not likely that Bolton pushed ardently pro-Taiwan positions because
of the payments. Taiwan was, more probably, rewarding a right-wing ally
already on its side. But Bolton should be asked what he understood about
the source of the money for these reports, and he ought to be questioned
about any other institutional ties he has had with Taiwan. Does it
compromise the political system to have foreign policy experts
testifying before Congress who have been paid via the slush fund of an
overseas government? But Bolton would not talk to the Post."

"The Nation" summarizes the "updates" with several good points: "To
date, three top Bush appointees in the State Department have been tarred
by the scandal. When will these officials and the State Department feel
compelled to address the controversy? Were other American hawks on
Taiwan's secret payroll, knowingly or not? Will Congress become
interested enough to examine Taiwan's extensive covert influence
campaign? How far will the slush spread?"
The following is the complete text of the "update" portion of "The
Nation"'s article on Taiwangate (Secret Taiwan Fund Sought Friends,
Influence Broad: Updates):

(begin quote) NOW FOR AN UPDATE:
Two days after saying that CSIS had no records of any transactions
involving the Pacific Forum, Harvard University and Masahiro Akiyama
(the former Japanese defense official), Jay Farrar called to note that a
"more fulsome search" found that the Pacific Forum did provide money to
Harvard on behalf of Akiyama.
In December 1999, according to a statement produced by Farrar, the
Pacific Forum "was asked" to help find Akiyama a fellowship, and the
think tank agreed to do so. Subsequently, the Pacific Forum received
$50,000 from the Taiwan Transportation Machinery Corporation, via the
firm's president R.T. Peng. The forum sent $40,000 to Harvard and kept
the remaining $10,000 in its general administration fund.
In June 2000, R.T. Peng and the his company contributed another $50,000
to the Pacific Forum to support its work, according to the CSIS
statement. And Peng and the Taiwan Transportation Machinery Corporation
made $25,000 donations to the Pacific Forum's general fund in 1998 and
1999.
According to Farrar, CSIS does not know who requested the Pacific Forum
assist Akiyama. He says that the CSIS still has not asked Jim Kelly
anything about this arrangement. Has CSIS spoken to Peng about the
source of the funds used to pay for Akiyama's Harvard fellowship? "No,"
replies Farrar. Will CSIS be conducting an additional inquiry into the
matter? "We don't have any reason to," Farrar says.
The CSIS statement does not note that Peng sits on the board of the
Pacific Forum and has been a close adviser to former President Lee,
helping him particularly in diplomatic matters concerning Japan. The
news accounts out of Taiwan and Hong Kong and CSIS's accounting records
raise the possibility a board member of the Pacific Forum served as a
conduit for money from a government slush fund used by Lee to do an
underhanded favor for a former senior-level Japanese government
official. That ought to merit further attention from CSIS. And was Kelly
aware he was being used in this fashion? His involvement--and Carl
Ford's connection to the scandal--should prompt a State Department
inquiry.

AND THE LATEST UPDATE:
On April 5, The Washington Post published a front-page story, "Secret
Taiwan Fund Sought Friends, Influence Abroad," that covered most of what
The Nation reported above. The piece, by John Pomfret, a Beijing
correspondent for the paper, provided additional information. Pomfret,
who interviewed past and present officials in Taipei, reported that the
secret slush fund was divided into seven components, and one called
Mingde ("Clear Virtue," in English) handled projects involving the
United States and Japan. One Taiwanese official told Pomfret that Taiwan
regularly funded research by U.S. academics on Taiwan, subsidized
conferences conducted by U.S. think tanks (such as the Heritage
Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute), and paid for trips to
Taiwan taken by congressional aides. But the story does not indicate if
all of this activity was supported by the secret slush fund. This
official remarked, "We know there is a revolving door in Washington. So
we follow the careers of people and hope we can cooperate."
One success on this front for the Taiwanese involved John Bolton, now
undersecretary of state for arms control and international security.
During his confirmation hearing last year, Bolton, a hawk who has for
years championed Taiwan, said that in the mid-1990s he received $30,000
from the Taiwan government to write three research papers on how Taiwan
might win its way back into the United Nations. Bolton defended the
payments and said they would not affect his judgment in office.
According to the Post, the money for these reports came from the slush
fund. During the period he was receiving these payments, Bolton twice
testified before Congress in favor of Taiwan's readmission into the U.N.
It's not likely that Bolton pushed ardently pro-Taiwan positions because
of the payments. Taiwan was, more probably, rewarding a right-wing ally
already on its side. But Bolton should be asked what he understood about
the source of the money for these reports, and he ought to be questioned
about any other institutional ties he has had with Taiwan. Does it
compromise the political system to have foreign policy experts
testifying before Congress who have been paid via the slush fund of an
overseas government? But Bolton would not talk to the Post.
The Post article noted that the Mingde project targeted other Americans
to befriend, including Paul Wolfowitz, now the deputy defense secretary,
and Kurt Campbell, a deputy assistant defense secretary in the Clinton
administration. But there's no evidence slush fund money went to either,
and a Wolfowitz spokesman said Wolfowitz did not know of any connection
between himself and the Taiwan fund.
Beyond the United States, Lee and his lieutenants spread the secret
money to win support. Pomfret reports Panama's government was given $11
million for hosting Lee in 1997, Nicaragua was slipped $10 million to
build a palace for its president, and that about $20 million was passed
to the African National Congress in South Africa to help it repay
campaign debts.
To date, three top Bush appointees in the State Department have been
tarred by the scandal. When will these officials and the State
Department feel compelled to address the controversy? Were other
American hawks on Taiwan's secret payroll, knowingly or not? Will
Congress become interested enough to examine Taiwan's extensive covert
influence campaign? How far will the slush spread?"




------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------


UPDATE 04/05/2002: In an unbelievable demonstration of spinning a story
to suit the Bush White House, the Washington-Post finally publishes an
article on Taiwan-gate. I have not seen such a pro-Bush spin on a story
by the WashingtonPost (and considering the amount of spin they do for
Bush, that is saying something) since the WPost's lead article about
Bush's DUI in Maine was entitled "Bush Camp Accuse Democrats of Dirty
Tricks."

After reading all of the above information about Taiwan-gate --about how
Taiwan's then-president Lee created a slush-fund in which to pay agents
in other countries to covertly influence the other countries' politics,
with two Bush appointtees to high-level government positions having
received money from this slush fund--you might be surprised to read the
WPost article where they go out of their way to lead the reader to
believe:

According to the WPost, Taiwan is a poor, pathetic little country, and
anything they do is justified because they are "deseperate" to stay
alive.
According to the WashingtonPost, this scandal mainly involves Taiwan and
other countries. The WPost greatly downplays the implications to
Americans of having in the Bush "administration" three men (the WPost
mentioned a third person, in addition to Ford and Kelly) who received
secret funds to covertly influence American politics. Indeed, the
WashingtonPost fails to mention at all that this has already had a
negative impact on our relations with Taiwan; there is no mention of the
fact that Taiwan has been forced to suspend some programs (hopefully,
the programs buying off the three men in the Bush "administration" is
one of these programs); there is no mention of the fact that, after the
scandal broke, because of his fears of facing the American media, ex-
president-Lee canceled an appearance before the National Press Corps in
Washington (although if the WashingtonPost is representative of our
media, Lee had nothing to fear; the American media would have carried
him around on a sedan-chair for his role in creating a slush fund to
covertly influence our country's government and policies); and there is
no mention of the fact that an assistant to the current Taiwanese
president was sent to Washington to find out what the fall out would
be--during this visit he was told by Republican congressional aides and
conservative think-thank representatives to "Fear what is to come," and
that anybody supporting Taiwan in the future would be "radioactive."
According to the WPost, conservative think-tanks, Carl Ford and James
Kelly really were not doing anything covert by accepting money from this
secret slush-fund and then, in turn secretly influencing American
politics. Oh, no. According to the WPost, this was an "open secret."
Everybody knew about this Taiwanese slush fund. That's right. It was an
"open secret" that Taiwan had a secret slush fund and paid off Americans
to covertly influence our government.
According to the WPost in one part of their article, Cassidy and
Associates only received money from the Taiwan Research Institute (the
"think-tank" started by ex-president Lee who, coincidentally, also
started the secret Taiwan government slush fund; the WPost neglects to
mention this fact). Then in another part of the article the WPost
indicates that Cassidy received money from the slush fund, which is what
the Taiwan publications have repeatedly indicated.
According to the WPost, poor, poor, desperate Taiwan is being picked on
by the BIG, MEANIES on mainland China. In fact, according to the WPost,
the mainland Chinese had the nerve to "crow" when they happily reported
that Taiwan's extensive spy system had been destroyed by the leakage of
these secret documents.
According to the WPost, in the 1990s the Chinese attempted to funnel
money through the Democratic National Convention but, apparently, the
money they sent to Haley Barbour which he happily laundered thruogh the
Republican National Committee--and which was the longest investigation
of any of the "Chinagate" investigations--just never occurred. Not even
worth mentioning, apparently...at least not in a propagand hit-piece
like this WPost article where they go out of their way to white-wash the
implications of the GOP, the Bush campaign and conservative think-tanks
receiving MILLIONS of dollars from a secret Taiwan slush fund to
covertly influence America's government and its policies.
According to the WPost, Carl Ford was simply "part of a team" at Cassidy
that received money from --what was it again? "Taiwan Research
Institute" or the slush fund? The WPost seems to be unable to keep the
story straight. Anyway, it doesn't matter because Ford--even though he
was the one repeatedly named in the leaked documents, and the one wined
and dined in Taiwan to the tune of $400,000--was just "part of a team."
The WPost stopped just shy of claiming Ford was "out of the loop," as
well, although we can anticipate that will be the next Bush-White-House-
spoon-fed propaganda the WPost will publish.
The following is the complete text of the article. My comments are in
red and bracked by "***[[...]]***."

The WashingtonPost, and the rest of the Bush-dominated media who allows
itself to be used as cheap propaganda machines, in my opinion, are
disloyal to America if they will participate in the coverup of --let me
say this very clearly--TAIWAN'S USING THE GOP AND CONSERVATIVE THINK-
TANKS TO COVERTLY INFLUENCE OUR NATION'S GOVERNMENT. Where is the
outrage? Carl Ford, while receiving money from this slush fund, trotted
his slick self up to Congress to huckster for the Taiwanese agenda. Ford
is now in the Bush "administration." WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE? Jame Kelly
flat-out laundered money from this slush-fund, and Kelly also is prat of
the Bush "administration." WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?

If you would like to tell the WashingtonPost what you think of their
propaganda "article," email them at: .

Here is the WashingtonPost "article" and my comments.

===============


Secret Taiwan Fund Sought Friends, Influence Abroad
By John Pomfret
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, April 5, 2002; Page A01


TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Desperate for international support, ****[[Poor, poor
"desperate" Taiwan! Taiwan creates a slush fund used to covertly
influence American politics; the Wpost certainly wastes no time in
trying to work the sympathy for Taiwan and justify Taiwan's using a
slush-fund to covertly influence the American government.]]*** Taiwan
under former president Lee Teng-hui established a secret $100 million
fund to buy influence with foreign governments, institutions and
individuals, including some in the United States, according to current
and former Taiwanese officials.

The fund was the source of multimillion-dollar payments to leaders in
Nicaragua, South Africa and Panama, according to senior Taiwanese
officials and government reports. It also provided financial support,
legal under U.S. law, for U.S. think tanks and Washington lobbyists,
they said. ****[[Pardon; it is legal for lobbying firms to receive
funding from sources that they report to the government. It is not legal
for lobbyists to receive money from a slush-fund for COVERT influencing
of our nation's government.]]*** Several people now in senior positions
in the Bush administration, as well as former Japanese prime minister
Ryutaro Hashimoto, were beneficiaries, according to the officials and
documents.

The fund operated from 1994 until 2000 under the National Security
Bureau, Taiwan's main intelligence agency, with no legislative
oversight. Taiwan's new president, Chen Shui-bian, closed the fund
following the disappearance of one of its senior accountants, Col. Liu
Kuan-chun, who allegedly embezzled $5.5 million.

Liu's whereabouts are not known. But a senior Taiwanese official said he
feared Liu fled to China and might still be there, which would provide
Chinese intelligence with a potential gold mine of incriminating
information.

Details about the fund were revealed in secret documents published in
Taiwan and Hong Kong in the last two weeks, touching off a political
crisis in Taiwan. Interviews with current and former Taiwanese officials
confirmed many of the events detailed in the documents and provided
information about additional payments made via the fund.

That Taiwan has used money to win friends and influence people has been
an open secret for decades ***[[It's been an "open secret"? Really? I
doubt this; I truly do. Why did Bush appoint these two men, then, if he
knew about it? If it's an "open secret" it's okay?]]***. Its lobbying
machine is one of Washington's slickest ***[[note that it is the
Taiwanese who are characterized as "slick" and not the Bush officials;
this sounds like poor Carl Ford and James Kelly were blushing brides
seduced by incredibly smooth operators]]***, outclassing the less
practiced attempts by its Communist adversaries from China, who in the
1990s were discovered to have attempted to funnel money to the
Democratic Party ***[[WHAT! The Post brings up the charges against the
Dems, never mentioning that Haley Barbour and the GOP were under
investigation for YEARS for money-laundering for the Chinese? ]]***.
Senior officials in Taiwan said they worried that Taiwan has lost its
advantage in the struggle for influence now that the documents have been
leaked. "People will wonder about our ability to keep things secret,"
said Bi-khim Hsiao, a formerpresidential adviser and now a legislator.
"This has been a dark week for Taiwan." ***[[Poor, poor Taiwan! Caught
doing something despicable--covertly influencing OUR government--and it
is a dark week for THEM?]]***

The documents and interviews paint the most detailed picture yet of a
small country -- 23 million inhabitants -- trying to compete against the
diplomacy of the People's Republic of China. ***[[What is it with this
pro-Taiwan spin? This is something the Taiwan Research Institute would
write! THEY COVERTLY INFLUENCE OUR GOVERNMENT! Where is the outrage?]]
***

Taiwan was thrown out of the United Nations in 1971 to make way for
China; only 28 countries still recognize the island. The United States
has had no diplomatic ties with Taiwan for three decades. The fund was
established against that background on June 20, 1994, Taiwanese sources
said, when Lee brought the National Security Bureau under his control
after years of operation outside executive branch management. Lee
suggested that Ying Tsung-wen, the bureau's chief at the time, keep the
fund hidden from the legislature, sources said.

The fund was divided into seven steering committees. One was the Mingde,
or Clear Virtue, committee, responsible for ties with the United States
and Japan, Taiwan's most important relationships. Su Chi, a former
Taiwanese official in charge of relations with China, confirmed the
existence of the group and his participation in its activities.

Su said the group sought to identify influential Americans and Japanese
who would be sympathetic to Taiwan's cause ***[[and proceeded to buy
them]]***. The group helped formulate Taiwan's policy toward Japan and
the United States and tried to raise Taiwan's profile there. One former
Taiwanese official involved in U.S.-China relations described Taiwan's
payments to U.S. academics and former administration officials as "an
insurance policy."

"We did not generally believe that you could buy Americans," he said.
"And we were very clear about the law," which bans contributions to
politicalcampaigns from foreign donors. ***[[BULL****. If they were not
ashamed of their attempts, and if they were not trying to do something
damnable in funding MILLIONS to people who are now Bush officials and to
conservative think tanks, they would not have needed a secret slush-
fund. Honest to god, the pro-Taiwan/pro-Bush spin is so blatant, I have
to wonder if the Post's editors had trouble translating the Chinese
writing as they prepared it for print]]***

The former official said Taiwan regularly funded research by U.S.
academics on Taiwan; backed conferences put on by such think tanks as
the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation **[[both
funded by Richard Mellon Scaife]]***; and cultivated relationships in
Congress, sending employees of influential legislators on free trips to
Taiwan. It did not, he said, attempt to edit U.S. researchers' work or
lean on Americans to reach certain conclusions. And, he said, it tried
to maintain good relations with people who had been sympathetic to
Taiwan while they were in government.***[[This is pure spin and
BULL****. Again, if their motives were pure they would not have had to
use a secret slush fund to distribute the money. There is a difference
between an above-board acknowledged attempt to influence governments--at
least it can be traced--and using a secret slush fund which is not
answerable to anybody but the person who started it.]]***

"We know there is a revolving door in Washington," he said. "So we
follow the careers of people and hope we can cooperate." ***[[This is
also unadulterated BULL****, and an attempt to white-wash the fact that
this slush fund gave to BUSH, the GOP and CONSERVATIVE think-tanks. No
article yet has mentioned ONE Democrat or ONE liberal organization as
receiving these secret funds.]]***

One of the big successes claimed by the secret fund's administrators was
then-President Lee's trip to the United States in 1995, which touched
off a rapid deterioration of U.S. ties with China and brought Taiwan,
China and the United States to the brink of conflict.

Lee's administration cultivated close ties to the Washington-based
lobbying firm Shandwick Public Affairs Inc., and its sister firms,
Cassidy & Associates and Powell Tate. From Jan. 1, 1995, to Dec. 31,
2000, the firms
received $9,818,548 from Taiwan, according to Justice Department
records. **[[These three firms were the ones involved in the scandal
(link) that tried to coverup who was really providing the lobbying
services for these Taiwanese "think tanks" like the Lee-started Taiwan
Research INstitute for whom Carl Ford so diligently worked.]]***


Taiwanese officials confirmed that half the payments came from Lee's
fund and half came from his Nationalist Party through the Taiwan
Research Institute ***[[which Lee also started; the implications of this
are astounding, yet the Washington Post doesn't even mention it]]***

A spokesman for Cassidy & Associates said the firms assumed "the funding
was coming from private sources" via the Taiwan Research Institute.
Sources in Taiwan said the research institute is funded almost
completely by the Nationalist Party. **[[Lee started the TRI and they
have the nerve to claim the money came from the Nationalist Party? Let's
see the checks. And while we are at it, let's see the checks that
Cassidy & Associates received, as well...and compare them to donations
Cassidy & Associates made to the RNC and the Bush campaign.]]***

Cassidy and the other firms played an important role in lobbying
Congress to pressure the Clinton administration to grant Lee a visa to
attend a reunion at Cornell University. The trip enraged China, which
fired missiles miles into the sea off Taiwan's two main ports. The
United States dispatched two aircraft carrier battle groups to the
region to signal support for Taiwan.

Lee then used the Mingde **[[one of the slush-fund groups]]***group to
dispatch a leading industrialist, Peng Run-tzu, president of the Taiwan
Transport Machinery Corp. and Lee's personal confidant, to Japan to
lobby then-Prime Minister Hashimoto to press the United States for a
strong reaction, documents and Taiwanese officials said. ***[[the slush
fund was used in this instance, and the one above, to influence American
poliltics. WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?!]]***

The Mingde committee also used ***[[Mingde is in the slush-fund; the WP
claimed that Cassidy said it got its money from TRI. So which is it?
Mingde or TRI? It would help the Bush/Chinese cause that the Post is
serving if they could keep their own story straight.]]*** Cassidy to
lobby for increased arms sales to Taiwan. Among the Cassidy lobbying
team at the time was Carl W. Ford Jr., now assistant secretary of state
for intelligence and research.***[[Note how the Post tries to diffuse
Ford --who was the only one at Cassidy mentioned in the article and,
apparently, in the leaked slush-fund documents, yet he was just "part of
a team"- are we going to read that Ford was "out of the loop," too?]]***
Taiwanese officials said Ford helped fashion a March 1, 2000, letter to
then-President Clinton from then-Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.)
suggesting that congressional approval of permanent normal trade
relations with China might depend on the Clinton administration's moving
"promptly" to approve Taiwan's weapons request.

Ford also testified before Congress, where he was identified as a
consultant to the Taiwan Research Institute, in favor of major arms
sales, including destroyers equipped with the Aegis radar system, a view
that goes further than the current Bush administration. The Mingde group
also arranged for Ford to travel to Taiwan in 2000 during George W.
Bush's presidential election campaign, documents and Taiwanese officials
said.

Ford did not return calls requesting comment.

Last April 24, the Bush administration approved an arms package for
Taiwan that included destroyers, anti-submarine aircraft and submarines
worth more than $4 billion. It was the biggest military transaction
since Bush's father sold 150 F-16 warplanes to Taiwan in 1992.

Documents and Taiwanese government sources also said that Mingde was
involved in identifying influential Americans, inside and outside
government, and attempting to befriend them. Paul Wolfowitz, currently
deputy defense secretary, and Kurt Campbell, a deputy assistant defense
secretary during the Clinton administration, were targets of the group,
the Taiwanese weekly magazine Next reported.***[[Really? Funny, Kurt
Campbell is not said to have received money from the slush fund, nor was
Clinton identified as having received money from the slush fund. Why did
the Post bring this up, except to diffuse the Bush/GOP taint by implying
that "everybody did it"]]***

Taiwan fund. He said he did not raise money from Taiwan when he was dean
of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies
during the Clinton years.

Taiwanese officials said the fund also paid for research by John Bolton,
the current undersecretary of state for arms control and international
security, who received $30,000 over three years in the mid-1990s for
research papers on U.N. membership issues involving Taiwan. ***[[This is
Washington-Post-speak for "another Bush administration official also
received money from this secret slush fund that was set up to covertly
influence other countries' governments]]*** As a senior vice president
at the American Enterprise Institute, Bolton supported U.S. recognition
of Taiwan as a separate country and its return to the United Nations.
Asked
about his research during a confirmation hearing in April 2001, Bolton
said his work for Taiwan would not affect his ability to objectively
handle Taiwan issues, including U.S. arms sales. **[[Well, of COURSE he
would say that. Army Secretary White thought he, holding millions of
dollars worth of Enron stock and talking to Enron executives on a daily
basis, should be allowed to handle Enron/Army contracting issues]]***

Bolton did not return calls requesting comment.

Documents published in Hong Kong's Sing Tao Daily detailed payment in
early 2000 of $100,000 to James Kelly, now assistant secretary of state
for East Asian and Pacific affairs, for two years at Harvard University
for former Japanese deputy defense minister Masahiro Akiyama following
Akiyama's forced resignation in October 1998 in a contracting scandal.
***[[Why didn't the fund simply give the money to Akiyama? Why did they
have to use Kelly's money-laundering services?]]***

At the time, Kelly was the president of the Pacific Forum, a Honolulu-
based affiliate of Washington's Center for Strategic and International
Studies (CSIS). Jay C. Farrar, vice president and spokesman for CSIS,
confirmed
yesterday that it received two $50,000 donations in 1999 and 2000 from
Peng, given through his Taiwan Transport Machinery Corp., to support
Akiyama's fellowship. ***[[HELLO! This is money laundering!]]*** Pacific
Forum sent a check for "approximately $40,000" to Harvard, apparently to
pay for Akiyama's fellowship there, Farrar said. Peng also gave Pacific
Forum $50,000 in general support, Farrar said.

A State Department spokesman said Kelly declined to comment on the
matter. Akiyama, who has denied his tuition was paid by Taiwan, did
research on Taiwan's inclusion in a theater missile defense system being
developed by Japan and the United States.

A former official said Lee also used the fund to buy friendship in small
foreign countries. Lee, he said, dispatched Liu Tai-ying, a senior
Nationalist Party official, on missions abroad to search for investments
that could be used as fronts for laundering Taiwanese money to its
friends.

In interviews, officials acknowledged multimillion-dollar payoffs to a
variety of countries, much of it through the slush fund. In 1997, they
said, Panama's government received $11 million for hosting Lee.
Nicaragua received
$10 million to build a pink-and-yellow presidential palace for its
president, Arnoldo Aleman, and at least $6 million to build a Foreign
Ministry building, they said.

United States who served as Taiwan's last ambassador to South Africa.
Loh said that on June 20, 1994, following Lee's visit to Nelson
Mandela's inauguration as South Africa's first black president, his
government
approved a plan to pay Mandela $10 million. That was the day the fund
was established by Lee.

Loh said the payment was made to help the African National Congress
repay a $20 million campaign debt. National Security Bureau documents
detailed a payment of $11 million, but Loh said he knew of only $10
million, which he handed in small denominations of South African rand to
a senior member of Mandela's inner circle.

Loh identified one senior contact as Thomas Nkobi, the governing African
National Congress's late treasurer general. Other Taiwanese sources said
Thabo Mbeki, South Africa's current president, was also involved in the
transaction. Cyril Ramaphosa, the ANC secretary general at the time,
denied any knowledge of the deal in an interview last week with the
South African Daily Mail and Guardian.

Loh said he believed the payment helped delay South Africa's recognition
of China by at least two years, to Jan. 1, 1998.

"South Africa was our last big fish," Loh said in an interview. "We are
a little island. We have to hold on to these relations any way we can."
***[[Poor, poor Taiwan! They have to create secret slush funds to
covertly influence other countries' government--including America's--and
it really isn't their fault because they are "just a little island." I
cannot believe the Post published this unadulterated BULL****.]]***

The source of the documents is unclear but speculation is rife --
stretching from the fugitive Col. Liu to opposition leader James Soong
to former chiefs of the National Security Bureau. Liu's copying machine
was apparently used to reproduce some of the documents, but he is not
believed to have had
access to such classified material.

Tsai Chao-ming, head of the National Security Bureau, told reporters
that the revelations, which included the code names of operations and
the names of front companies, have seriously damaged Taiwan's ability to
collect intelligence and have placed current operations and the lives of
Taiwanese agents at risk. ***[[This is a bad thing? This is a GOOD
thing. Hello...? Spying is BAD. If Taiwanese agents are at risk, it is
the fault of the Taiwan government for doing spying in the first
place.]]***


The Global Times, a state-run newspaper in Beijing, crowed recently that
Taiwan's intelligence activities in China were a shambles because of
therevelations. ***[[Not the spin: "crow." Putting a negative spin on
China being happy because the Taiwan spying network had been outed.
China SHOULD be happy, and are completely justified in publicly stating
they are happy about it. Wouldn't American newspapers "crow" if a
country's extensive spying efforts in America had been reduced to
shambles?]]***

In an attempt to quash the report, Taiwanese prosecutors on March 20
raided the offices of Next magazine, which first published the
documents, and seized 160,000 copies of the muckraking weekly. Next got
the story out anyway by switching to other printing plants. In the end,
more than 300,000 copies were sold, according to editor Peir Woei.

Justice Minister Chen Ding-nan said in an interview that prosecutors
were preparing to file indictments against reporters and editors at Next
and the China Times, a daily newspaper that obtained similar documents.
Their crime, he said, was revealing state secrets. "There is just too
much press freedom in Taiwan," he said.

Staff writer Robert G. Kaiser in Washington contributed to this report.




------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------


UPDATE 04/04/2002: "The Nation" has a Taiwan-gate article now, as well.
There are several interesting pieces of information, and they do a great
job of covering Ford/Kelly's influence on Bush's policy towards Taiwan.

Taiwan's security services recalled personnel from outposts around the
world, including those in the U.S., Japan, France and China.
Cassidy and Associates say they were paid by Taiwan Research Associates,
the "think-tank" started by Taiwan's ex-president Lee, who also,
coincidentally, started the secret slush fund, as well.
The State Department has a very short "no-comment" policy about the
possibility that covert Taiwanese agents are directing America's policy
towards Taiwan, indicating that it has nothing to do with the State
Department (!!). Quoting "The Nation" article: "Neither Ford nor Kelly
will address the media reports from Asia. A woman answering the phone in
Ford's office said he has "no comment" and would not take questions on
the subject. Kelly's office referred me to a spokesman at the State
Department who said, 'There will be no response from my office. This has
nothing to do with the State Department.'"

(Quoting "The Nation" article): " "Allegations that a past president of
Taiwan illegally set up a $100 millionsecret slush fund to pay for
overseas intelligence, propaganda, andinfluence operations are causing
ripples that have reached into the BushAdministration.
At the end of March, Next, a Hong Kong magazine, and the China Times,
adaily newspaper in Taiwan, reported that classified documents indicated
LeeTeng-hui, Taiwan's president in the late 1990s, established a secret
account in the National Security Bureau to underwrite various
activities, including running spy networks in China and elsewhere. The
articles, which noted the NSB had made payments to Japanese officials
(including former prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto) and which identified
Taiwanese intelligence officials stationed abroad, detonated a scandal
in Taiwan.
The government did not challenge the veracity of the reports, and the
Taiwanese news media reported Taiwan's security services were recalling
personnel from outposts around the world, including those in the United
State, Japan, France and China. The Next magazine reporter who broke the
story, Hsieh Zhong-liang, was charged with breaching national security
and banned from leaving the country; his magazine's office was raided by
the police. Hsieh wouldn't reveal the source who provided the documents,
but other journalists speculated the information had come from a former
National Security Bureau finance officer who is on the run and alleged
to have embezzled $5.5 million. The leaks embarrassed the current
government, which is controlled by the Democratic Progressive Party, for
the DPP is allied with the Taiwan Solidarity Union, a pro-independence
party led by ex-President Lee. Amid all the fuss, Lee called off a trip
to the United States.
The scandal has tainted two senior Bush appointees in the State
Department. Sing Tao Daily, a Hong Kong newspaper, reported that Lee
used the secret account--which had not been approved by Parliament--to
pay Cassidy and Associates, one of Washington's largest lobbying firms,
to work for Taiwan, and the newspaper said the slush fund had covered
the costs of trips made to Taiwan by Carl Ford Jr., a Cassidy and
Associates consultant. Ford is now assistant secretary of state for
intelligence and research. Sing Tao, citing the classified documents,
also reported James Kelly, whom Bush last May appointed assistant
secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, received money
from this fund when he headed the Pacific Forum, a Honolulu-based think
tank that is an arm of the Center for Strategic and International
Studies, which is based in Washington, DC. Sing Tao maintained Lee drew
$100,000 from the clandestine account in February 1999 to pay the
Pacific Forum to support a former Japanese defense official's study at
Harvard University.
Both Ford and Kelly are significant players in crafting Bush
Administration policy on Taiwan. Ford is a longtime expert on Chinese
affairs. He was a China analyst with the CIA in the 1970s and the CIA's
National Intelligence Officer for East Asia in 1985. He has been a
Capitol Hill staffer, a Pentagon official, and a prominent advocate of
U.S. military assistance to Taiwan. Kelly was director of Asian affairs
for the National Security Council during the Reagan Administration. He
also served in the Pentagon in the early 1980s.
In 1999 and 2000, Ford was indeed a consultant to Cassidy and
Associates, according to Justice Department records and a spokesman for
the firm. During this time, Cassidy and Associates was mounting a
vigorous campaign on Taiwan's behalf, lobbying Congress, the State
Department, the Pentagon, and the White House and producing pro-Taiwan
media materials, including a website, position papers, and a newsletter.
(This was a joint effort with its sister company, Powell Tate.) Ford
wrote op-eds, letters-to the editor and testified before Congress in
support of Taiwan's positions, usually identified as a consultant to the
Taiwan Research Institute, a think tank based in that country and
associated with Lee's party. In the spring of 2000, as the Clinton
administration was pondering whether to sell Aegis destroyers to Taiwan,
Ford circulated a memo in Washington arguing that a leaked Pentagon
report showed Taiwan needed the "Aegis and other systems to offset
Beijing's ballooning arsenal."
A spokesman for Cassidy and Associates says the firm was paid for its
pro-Taiwan efforts by the Taiwan Research Institute. Justice Department
records show that Cassidy and Associates received $3.2 million from 1997
to 2000 for this work. "It was our understanding that the TRI money came
from private sources," says the Cassidy and Associates spokesman. "TRI,
to us, was a private, nongovernmental think tank. They engaged us and
they paid us."
But perhaps the money was part of an undercover government effort to
influence politics and policy in the United States. Which would mean
that Cassidy and Associates, whether it realized it or not, was fronting
for a
secret propaganda operation conducted by a foreign leader. Does it make
any difference to Cassidy and Associates that the payments may have come
from a slush fund, funneled through a research institute? "That's a
metaphysical question," the spokesman replies. "I'm not sure it makes
any sense for me to respond." Did Ford take trips to and from Taiwan as
part of his work on Cassidy and Associate's Taiwan account? "We really
don't get into that sort of information on our contacts with clients,"
the Cassidy and Associates spokesman says. (If you're wondering why the
Cassidy and Associates spokesman is not named here, it's because the
person said he would talk only if I agreed not to identify him.)
Jay Farrar, a spokesman for the Center for Strategic and International
Studies, says his think tank has examined its financial records and
found no transactions between any Taiwanese government entity and the
Pacific Forum or the CSIS that correspond to the allegations in the
Asian media. He asserts there was no evidence "in our records" of any
payment made by Pacific Forum or CSIS to Harvard University. CSIS has
received general support funding from the Taipei Economic and Cultural
Representative Office ($250,000 or more in 2001), Farrar says. But he
notes this is a governmental office that routinely makes grants
overseas. "We don't see any funds from the NSB," he adds. Farrar does
note CSIS and Pacific Forum employees are
free to do outside consulting: "Jim Kelly had that same opportunity when
he was at Pacific Forum; he may have taken advantage of that." But
Farrar says that CSIS has no knowledge whether Kelly did and that CSIS
has not had any "formal contact" with Kelly regarding the Taiwan
allegations. Has CSIS asked the Taipei Economic and Cultural
Representative Office if the money it gave CSIS may have come from Lee's
secret slush fund? No, says Farrar, remarking, "It's an interesting
prospect to go back and ask people who gave you money,is this legal or
not?"
Neither Ford nor Kelly will address the media reports from Asia. A woman
answering the phone in Ford's office said he has "no comment" and would
not take questions on the subject. Kelly's office referred me to a
spokesman at the State Department who said, "There will be no response
from my office. This has nothing to do with the State Department."
Shouldn't the State Department have some response? To recap: news
reports in Taiwan and Hong Kong, citing classified government records,
say that as part of ex-President Lee's covert campaign to win friends
and influence governments around the world, key members of the pro-
Taiwan lobby in the United States received money, wittingly or not, from
a slush fund. And two alleged to have done so are currently high-level
U.S. government officials.
During the campaign finance scandal of the Clinton administration, there
was much huffing--mostly among Republicans--about a supposed Chinese
campaign to shape politics in the United States. The more rabid
rightwingers accused Bill Clinton of selling out the United States to
Beijing. But several of the so-called Chinese connections tracked back
to Taiwan, not China, and firm evidence of a Chinese plot never fully
materialized. (There were hints.)
With the recent media reports out of Taiwan, there is a much stronger
case that it was Taiwan that utilized illegal and covert funds to
influence U.S. policy--as well as policy in other nations. But there has
yet been no outrage here. The U.S. media has not caught on to the story,
and Ford, Kelly and the State Department have been able to get away with
their no-comments-at-all response.
Perhaps the say-nothing strategy will work. But the story might not be
over. Professor Wu Yu-shan of the National Taiwan University tells the
BBC that he expects the leaks will "go on and on." (Taiwangate?--Bush
Appointees Linked to Secret Slush Funds)





------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------


UPDATE 04/04/2002: The Taiwangate slush-fund scandal continues to widen
as relatives of Taiwan's former president, Lee, who created the slush-
fund for the purpose of financing covert spy activities abroad, and to
fund agents in other countries who would covertly influence their
country's politics to suit Taiwan's wishes. Questions arose over
"dubious" million-dollar deposits made in Lee's relatives' accounts, and
an investigation has been demanded by Taiwan lawmakers.

An important bit of information: The "Taiwan Research Institute," a
"think-tank" for which Carl Ford has done so much writing in an attempt
to swing opinion into backing Taiwan being sold sophisticated arms,
including the Aegis destroyers, (example: AEGIS Destroyers Would Spell
Deterrence in the Taiwan Strait | By Carl Ford Taiwan Research Institute
June 1999), was started by Taiwan's ex-president Lee.

That's right: Lee, who started the slush-fund from which Ford received
secret money, also started the Taiwan Research Institute, for which Ford
so diligently worked. Coincidence? YOU be the judge.

Quoting the Taipei Times from 04/03/2002: "PFP lawmakers yesterday
questioned the wiring of five disbursements of money in June 1997 to
accounts belonging to relatives of former president Lee Teng-hui ,
saying that the money in question may be related to secret funds from
the National Security Bureau (NSB). PFP lawmaker Liu Wen-hsiung )
claimed that the five wirings of money -- with a combined value of NT$52
million -- from the Farmers' Bank of China to the accounts of Anna Lee ,
former president Lee Teng-hui's daughter, and Chang Kwei-fen , the
sister of Lee's daughter-in-law Chang Yue-yun ), are extremely
suspicious, because the bank is where part of the NSB's secret funds are
deposited.-Responsible departments must launch an investigation into why
the money was wired from the Farmers Bank.' Liu Wen-hsiung, a PFP
lawmaker. Liu made the charges based on a tip-off letter sent to him
last Friday. He said the letter pointed out that the transactions were
dubious because they were made within the span of a single month and
that the money was withdrawn from a bank where a portion of NSB funds
was located."Responsible departments must launch an investigation into
why the money was wired from the Farmers' Bank. 'Did the transaction
have anything to do with the accounts of a certain bureau, [referring to
the NSB],' he said. Other PFP lawmakers said they suspected that the
money was embezzled from the KMT or the Taiwan Research Institute, a
think tank founded by the former president." (TAPEI TIMES, 04/03/2002:
Lee's Relatives Implicated in Receipt of Slush-Fund Deposits)





------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------


UPDATE 04/02/2002: The following are links to articles either about or
by Carl Ford. Ford's articles are clearly advancing Taiwan's agenda, for
which he was documented in leaked slush-fund documents as receiving
slush-funds from a secret Taiwan account at the time. The purpose of
the slush-fund, set up by Taiwan's then-president Lee, was to covertly
influence other countries' politics and policies, and to fund spies in
other countries. The question needs to be asked: which one is Mr. Ford?
Covert Taiwanese agent, or full-fledged Taiwanese spy?

State Official Details Threats of Chemical, Biological Weapons. This
first one is especially troubling: Carl Ford, as the Bush-appointed
assistant secretary of state for intelligence and reesearch, is actively
influencing American policy. This article documents how Ford appeared
before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in March 2002. The
articles linked, below, clearly document how, at a time when Carl Ford
was receiving Taiwanese slush-fund money in exchange for covert
influencing of American politics, he was actively pushing Taiwan's
agenda, and actually had quite a bit of success, once Bush was in the
Oval Office, in getting for Taiwan what it wanted from America. The
question needs to be asked: Whose agenda is Carl Ford pushing now?
Quoting from the article about Ford's 03/19/2002 Senate appearance:
"State Official Details Threat of Chemical, Biological Weapons 19/03/02
'I can't think of an intelligence problem more difficult at any level
than dealing with biological weapons and chemical weapons,' a senior
State Department intelligence official told the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee March 19. 'A lot of resources are applied to the problem. But
boy, it is hard.' Carl Ford, the Assistant Secretary of State for
Intelligence and Research, testified on chemical and biological weapons
(CBW) at one of a series of hearings on the theme 'Securing America's
Future' that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has held since early
February. The purpose of the hearings is to determine "the most urgent
threats facing the United States" and to determine how to prioritize
federal resources to address them, according to committee chairman
Senator Joseph Biden (Democrat, Delaware)."

If you would like to contact Senator Biden, the committee chairman, and
express your concerns about Mr. Ford influencing our government's
policies, Biden's contact information is:

Biden Jr, Joseph (D - DE)
221 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING
WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5042
Fax: 202-224-0139
TDD: 202-224-4048



Bush Picks Nominees to Serve His Administration. This is an official
press release.

House Passes Resolution Reaffirming the U.S. Committment to Taiwan. From
Taiwan Security Research; Ford is quoted, and is noted to be a TSR
consultant.

Carl W. Ford, Jr. U.S. - Taiwan Relations: the Twentieth Anniversary of
the Taiwan Relations Act | March 25, 1999 |Congress Must Lean on the
White House To Maintain Balance in the Taiwan Strait . Carl Ford's
testimony in which he, again, advances Taiwan's agenda at a time when he
was allegedly receiving funding from a secret Taiwan slush fund. Note
that he is trying to get Congress to "lean on" the White House; Clinton
was opposed to selling sophisticated arms to Taiwan.

AEGIS Destroyers Would Spell Deterrence in the Taiwan Strait | By Carl
Ford Taiwan Research Institute June 1999. In another article advancing
Taiwan's agenda, Carl Ford pushes for AEGIS destroyers, something Taiwan
dearly wanted and something to which President Clinton was strongly
opposed. This bio is given for Ford at the bottom of the article: "As a
Senate staffer, Carl Ford served as an East Asia analyst. He also held
posts at the CIA and the Pentagon. He is now a consultant to the Taiwan
Research Institute."

Why Taiwan's Navy Needs Aegis Destroyers Now By Carl Ford Taiwan
Research Institute December 1999. Carl Ford, in this article, again
promotes Taiwan's agenda and pushes for AEGIS destroyers for Taiwan.

Pentagon Report Makes Case For Sale of Aegis to Taiwan By Carl Ford.
Quoting from the article: "Within a few months the new Bush
administration must respond to Taiwan's request to purchase defensive
arms from the United States. Aegis destroyers and diesel submarines
topped the request list when Taiwan began the annual process in
December. The Clinton Administration repeatedly denied similar requests,
reportedly arguing that such sales would anger China and upset its hopes
for strategic engagement with Beijing."



LINKS


Taiwan money scandal has White House ties: Bush officials under scrutiny
in influence-peddling intrigue

Secret Taiwan Fund Sought Friends, Influence Abroad

Secret Taiwan Fund Sought Friends, Influence Broad: Updates

THE NATION (04/02/2002) Taiwangate?--Bush Appointees Linked to Secret
Slush Funds

TAPEI TIMES, 04/03/2002: Lee's Relatives Implicated in Receipt of Slush-
Fund Deposits

#1: Rifts Grow as Debate About Free Speech Rages (SOUTH CHINA MORNING
POST, 03/29/2002)

#2: Next Reporter Defends Source (TAPEI TIMES, 03/29/2002)

#3: TAINTED LOBBYISTS: Fallout From Spy Case Hits Washington (TAPEI
TIMES, 03/28/2002).

#4: Slush Scandal Blows Taiwan Spy Cover (BBC, 03/26/2002)

#5: Taiwan's money diplomacy: Senior US and Japanese officials were
allegedly PAID for their influence (TheStraitsTimes, 03/26/2002)

#6: Hong Kong Paper Prints Slush Fund Secrets (TAPEI TIMES, 03/25/2002)

#7: US official 'given Taiwan slush money'; Leaked documents reveal
America's chief policymaker on Asia, James Kelly, received money as head
of a think-tank (TheStraitsTimes, 03/28/2002)

#8: WPost: Funding Father of the Right (WASHINGTON POST, 05/02/1999)

#9: Lobbying Firm Draws Fi MONEY FOR INFLUENCE: The controversy
surrounding the hiring of companies to lobby on behalf of Taiwan in the
US may grow with the recent revelation that a new firm has been hired
specifically to push the Taiwan Security Enhancement Act (TAPEI TIMES,
07/10/2000

#10: Bush Says 'Give it a Rest' (COMMON DREAMS, 04/09/2001)

#11: China Protest Over Arms for Taiwan (BBC, 04/25/2001)

#12: Paul Weyrich (POLITICAL AMAZON)

#13: China Developing First-Strike Capabilities Against Taiwan: Expert
(THE WORLD TRIBUNE, 03/27/1999)

#14: Rumors Fly as Lee Cancels U.S. Trip (TAPEI TIMES, 03/25/2002)

On Mon, 2 Feb 2004 23:26:35 -0800, jps wrote:

In article . net,
says...
Kerry Took Cash From Chinese Military Intelligence


jps, you're getting as bad as Harry, posting hellaciously long pastes,
which you probably haven't read. Oh, wait, you're the one that taught
Harry. Never mind.

The facts. Kerry took money from the Chinese. He admitted it on TV.
Bush didn't take money from the Chinese. period.


John H

On the 'Poco Loco' out of Deale, MD
on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay!

John H wrote:

On Mon, 2 Feb 2004 23:26:35 -0800, jps wrote:

In article . net,
says...
Kerry Took Cash From Chinese Military Intelligence


jps, you're getting as bad as Harry, posting hellaciously long pastes,
which you probably haven't read. Oh, wait, you're the one that taught
Harry. Never mind.

The facts. Kerry took money from the Chinese. He admitted it on TV.
Bush didn't take money from the Chinese. period.


John H

On the 'Poco Loco' out of Deale, MD
on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay!

You're worried about a donation Kerry returned when Bush the Whore is
accepting and keeping ka-zillions of dollars in contributions from
corporations and individuals at corporations to whom he is granting huge
favors?

Hehehehehe.

Simpleton.


--
Email sent to is never read.

In article , jherring$$@
$$cox**.net says...
On Mon, 2 Feb 2004 23:26:35 -0800, jps wrote:

In article . net,
says...
Kerry Took Cash From Chinese Military Intelligence


jps, you're getting as bad as Harry, posting hellaciously long pastes,
which you probably haven't read. Oh, wait, you're the one that taught
Harry. Never mind.

Okay, since you're completely wrong.

John H wrote:
The facts. Kerry took money from the Chinese. He admitted it on TV.
Bush didn't take money from the Chinese. period.


There's an open minded answer for you.

Why not just say
Bush = good
everybody else including teh increasing number of disaffected
Republicans = traitor

Bush's actions with regard to mainland China and Taiwan speak huge
volumes for which way his policy leans... and I for one think it is
entirely credible that the Chinese have bought & paid for this
unannounced policy, and that the Taiwanese are pouring out money to
change it.

DSK

DSK wrote:

John H wrote:
The facts. Kerry took money from the Chinese. He admitted it on TV.
Bush didn't take money from the Chinese. period.


There's an open minded answer for you.

Why not just say
Bush = good
everybody else including teh increasing number of disaffected
Republicans = traitor

Bush's actions with regard to mainland China and Taiwan speak huge
volumes for which way his policy leans... and I for one think it is
entirely credible that the Chinese have bought & paid for this
unannounced policy, and that the Taiwanese are pouring out money to
change it.

DSK


Bush and his gang are whores for the Fortune 500, the HMOs, the
pharmaceutical companies, and any number of foreign countries. They
take the money and do the bidding. Just take a look at the recent
"Medicare" Rx supplement and follow the money trail from Bush to the
drug companies.

--
Email sent to is never read.

On Tue, 03 Feb 2004 10:56:10 -0500, DSK wrote:

John H wrote:
The facts. Kerry took money from the Chinese. He admitted it on TV.
Bush didn't take money from the Chinese. period.


There's an open minded answer for you.

Why not just say
Bush = good
everybody else including teh increasing number of disaffected
Republicans = traitor
snipped
DSK

I don't believe that everything Bush does/has done is good. So I
couldn't do that.

But, I can see where you might get the idea if you spend enough time
listening to Harry and jps.

John H

On the 'Poco Loco' out of Deale, MD
on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay!

John H wrote:
I don't believe that everything Bush does/has done is good.

Really? I read more of your posts that NOBBY's, Dave Hall, and the rest
of the BushCo cheerleading squad because your posts usually indicate
some intelligence and awareness of reality outside of right-wing talk
radio. You are often very reasonable, but then I made that comment
because you seem to have a BIG set of blinders on. What has Bush done
that you mildly disapprove of?

I saw a great quote the other day that explains the whole thing rather
neatly:
"The meme for blind faith secures its own perpetuation by the
simple unconscious expedient of discouraging rational inquiry."
- Richard Dawkins


But, I can see where you might get the idea if you spend enough time
listening to Harry and jps.

I don't read any of Harry's posts and about half of JPS's, so you've got
the wrong idea here.

Regards
Doug King

On Tue, 03 Feb 2004 13:02:29 -0500, DSK wrote:

John H wrote:
I don't believe that everything Bush does/has done is good.

Really? I read more of your posts that NOBBY's, Dave Hall, and the rest
of the BushCo cheerleading squad because your posts usually indicate
some intelligence and awareness of reality outside of right-wing talk
radio. You are often very reasonable, but then I made that comment
because you seem to have a BIG set of blinders on. What has Bush done
that you mildly disapprove of?

I saw a great quote the other day that explains the whole thing rather
neatly:
"The meme for blind faith secures its own perpetuation by the
simple unconscious expedient of discouraging rational inquiry."
- Richard Dawkins


But, I can see where you might get the idea if you spend enough time
listening to Harry and jps.

I don't read any of Harry's posts and about half of JPS's, so you've got
the wrong idea here.

Regards
Doug King


Let's see...things I disagree with...

Not allowing the government to price bargain with pharmaceutical
companies.

Granting amnesty to illegal aliens, Mexican, Irish, or otherwise.

Not having more substantial rationale for attacking Iraq.

Announcing the countries that would be precluded from receiving
contracts in Iraq. (Yeah, Wolfowitz did it, but Bush owns it.)

Allowing the horrendous expenditure of money and the federalizing of
the airport security folks.

Sending men to Mars, when we can't miss the potholes on our
interstates and the bridges are falling apart.

Not addressing, in some manner, the outsourcing of jobs by US
corporations. Perhaps disallowing the 'wages' expense for factory
workers that don't pay US income taxes.

Some of the provisions of the "No Child Left Behind" act dealing with
the testing of non-English speaking students.

Income tax reductions to anyone earning more than a couple million
dollars a year.

That's enough to start with.

John H

On the 'Poco Loco' out of Deale, MD
on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay!

John H wrote:
Let's see...things I disagree with...

Not allowing the government to price bargain with pharmaceutical
companies.

Agreed... and funneling pharmaceutical lobbyists money into ???


Granting amnesty to illegal aliens, Mexican, Irish, or otherwise.

Actually, I don't think that was such a bad move. It is meaningless
really, since INS is so far behind; and it's a pretty blatant attempt to
drive low wage workers even lower. But letting people who want to come
here to work, do so, is IMHO a good idea.

Now, giving drivers license tests in foreign languages, THAT sucks...


Not having more substantial rationale for attacking Iraq.

Funny, you've defended Bushes Iraq policy here all along.


Announcing the countries that would be precluded from receiving
contracts in Iraq. (Yeah, Wolfowitz did it, but Bush owns it.)

They pretty much let the cat out of the bag there, didn't they? Subtext:
"Yes, we blew the crap out of Iraq and now Halliburton and it's
subsidiaries are the only ones who are going to profit by rebuilding it."


Allowing the horrendous expenditure of money and the federalizing of
the airport security folks.

I think this has PO'd a lot of real conservatives out there. I hope some
of them will vote with their feet.


Sending men to Mars, when we can't miss the potholes on our
interstates and the bridges are falling apart.

Don't worry, that was all a publicity gimmick. The plan was to loot all
of NASA's other programs to pay for it. The polls showed it would be a
big yawn at the voting booth, so it has been quietly dropped.

If any President, including G. Bush Jr, wanted to invest in the space
program, I'd be for it. Space is the future. Up there it's raining soup,
and we haven't even invented buckets yet. But Halliburton is not a
aerospace contractor



Not addressing, in some manner, the outsourcing of jobs by US
corporations.

Look at who pays Bush's freight... the corporate kleptocracy that is
moving offshore as fast as it can.

Actually Bush is addressing the issue, somewhat, by completely
collapsing all environmental regulation.


Some of the provisions of the "No Child Left Behind" act dealing with
the testing of non-English speaking students.

How about the provisions that encourage schools to drop below average
students out of the test metric, and out of further education?


Income tax reductions to anyone earning more than a couple million
dollars a year.

Agreed. "Hey buddy, can you spare some stock options?"


That's enough to start with.

Wait, what about the balance of foreign payments? The unfunded mandates
of federal regulations, which was already ballooning before the Patriot
Act?

I could go on, but I don't want to get you kicked out of any clubs. I've
made it pretty plain that I consider Bush & Co to be blazing hypocrits
and money grubbing fascist whackos... maybe that's part of their charm?

My hopes are that a lot of the middle-of-the-roaders who voted for Bush
last time (and I know dozens myself, seems to be a common phenomenon)
out of hopes he'd be somehow 'more moral' than Clinton, are appalled
enough to vote the other way next time. It's a matter of importance for
the future of the country.

Regards
Doug King