NEGOTIATIONS FOR RETURN OF HIJACKING JET JUST A NEW TWIST TO AN OLD CHINESE GAME

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000706470001-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 21, 2011
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: May 21, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/21: CIA-RDP90-00965R000706470001-0
WALL STREET JOURNAL
ARTICLE APPEARED 21 May 1986
ON PAGE 3
Negotiations for Return of Hiiacke4i et
gust a New Twist to an Old Chinese Game
By JAMES P. STERBA
Sioff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
' HONG KONG-It would be fun-but
misleading-to report that what brought
Taiwan and China together for their first
direct talks in 37 years was the durian,
that prickly, smelly fruit renowned in Asia
fdr promoting amorous encounters.
., Crates of ripening durians were among
the 91 tons, of cargo aboard a China Air-
lines cargo jet en route from Bangkok to
Hong Kong and Taipei on May 3, when it
was hijacked by its pilot to the mainland
city of Canton. That set the stage for a
strange breakthrough in which Taiwan al-
tered a policy that has stood firm since the
1949 Communist conquest of the mainland:
no contact, no negotiation and no compro-
mise with the Communists.
Durian diplomacy it isn't. But other ex-
planations for what Western diplomats
have called an "astonishing" turn of
events are just as fanciful. Logic has never
played much of a role in the bitter feud be-
tween the mainland Communists and the
Taiwan Nationalists.
Family Feud
This is a family feud in which air pi-
racy, condemned as a terrorist act else-
where in the world, has evolved into an
elaborate game among Chinese brethren,
involving gold jackpots for mainland pilots
who defect with aircraft to Taiwan and
hero status for Taiwanese pilots who defect
wjth planes to the "motherland."
In this case, one of two Boeing Co. 747-
290F cargo jets belonging to China Air-
lines, the Taipei carrier owned mostly by
tire government, was diverted to the main-
land by pilot Wang Hsi-chuen, 56 years old.
China says he wanted to be reunited with
his 82-year-old father in Sichuan province.
On board were copilot Tung Kung-shin and
technician Chiu Ming-chiu, who want to go
back to Taiwan.
After four days of negotiations in Hong
Kong, the two sides agreed yesterday on
the return of the airplane and the two crew
members by Saturday.
In most previous hijackings involving
the two countries, only individual pilots fly-
ing military planes have been involved.
Getting the two non-defectors back is a
precedent for the Taiwan government.
The airplane itself, valued at between
$60 million to $100 million, was presumably
insured, as was its cargo of durians, fish,
garments, and, reportedly, tires.
The Lead Character
Pilot Wang is a strange character in
this saga. His motivation is a mystery. Ac-
cording to Chinese in Hong Kong not affili-
ated with either the mainland or Taiwan,
Mr. Wang is a former U-2 spy pilot who
flew missions over China from Okinawa
for the Americans in the late 1950s and
early 1960s. He retired from the Chinese
Nationalist air force in 1967 at the rank of
lieutenant colonel and took a job with
China Airlines.
What makes his defection so hard to be-
lieve is that he was once praised as a Na-
tionalist hero by none other than Chiang
Kai-shek. President Chiang allowed a rare
photograph to be taken of himself and pilot
Wang together.
Because U.S. diplomats publicly eschew
any role in the China mainland's quest to
woo Taiwan back into the fold, nobody is
suggesting that the U.S. government is se-
cretly encouraging defections to the main-
land or to Taiwan as a lubricant for talks
aimed at bringing the two sides closer.
As analysts explain it, pilot Wang was
flying delivery runs along the China
coast instead of the more prestigious
passenger runs. Still, it is difficult to imag-
ine a sense of personal disillusionment that
would have made him plan a defection to
the Canton airport.
Whatever the outcome, there is nothing
proletarian about the talks between Tai-
wan and China: The first day they met at
the Hong Kong Country Club in Aberdeen.
The second day they met at the Hong Kong
Club in the central business district. The
third day they met at the Royal Hong Kong
Jockey Club in Happy Valley-all bastions
of imperial British rule.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/21: CIA-RDP90-00965R000706470001-0