Taipei, Nov. 30 (CNA) Thousands of classified documents illicitly obtained from the United States (U.S.) government could jeopardize Taiwan-U.S. relations if they are publicized by the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks, a Taiwan lawmaker warned Tuesday.
Citing Wikileaks, legislator Lin Yu-fang said that 3,456 cables between the de facto U.S. representative office in Taiwan and the U.S. State Department were among more than 250,000 documents the website had obtained.
None of the Taiwan-related confidential documents have been published so far, but their release "could cause misunderstanding and affect Taiwan-U.S. relations," Lin said.
He urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Security Council to immediately contact the U.S. and take precautions to minimize the potential damage.
According to Lin, the number of documents relating to the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) was the ninth highest among those from the U.S. agencies that have been hacked by Wikileaks.
The AIT-related documents are more than those from the U.S. Embassies in Russia, China and Israel, he said.
The website said that 1,425 of the AIT documents were listed as "confidential" and 136 were listed as "secret."
Among the documents already published is a cable dated April 30, 2009 and purportedly sent from the U.S. embassy in Beijing to the AIT.
It showed that a Chinese official told then-U.S. Charge d'Affaires Dan Piccuta that "the agreement allowing Taiwan to participate as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA) meetings in Geneva in May was 'one step forward' toward better cross-Strait relations and demonstrated what could be achieved through consultations based on "one China, very broadly interpreted."
The official was also quoted as saying that China hoped the U.S. would feel "less burdened, frustrated and nervous" as cross-Strait relations were improving.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs learned of the matter last week and has been in close contact with the U.S. since then, MOFA spokesman James Chang told CNA.
Meanwhile, AIT spokesman Chris Kavanaugh said that "the U.S. government condemns the unauthorized disclosure of classified information," and that the AIT would have no further comment.
Wikileaks said on its website that 251,287 cables, originating from 274 embassies and dating from Dec. 28, 1966 to Feb. 28 2010, will be released in stages over the next few months. (By Chris Wang) Enditem /pc