National Security Bureau (Taiwan)

The National Security Bureau (NSB; Chinese: 國家安全局; pinyin: Guójiā Ānquán Jú) is the principal intelligence agency of Taiwan.

This article is about the intelligence agency of the Republic of China (Taiwan). For the Polish government agency, see National Security Bureau (Poland).
National Security Bureau
國家安全局
Guójiā Ānquán Jú (Mandarin)
Kok-ka An-choân Kio̍k（(Taiwanese Hokkien)
Koet-kâ Ôn-chhiòn Khiu̍k (Hakka)
National Emblem of the Republic of China

Entrance of the Headquarters of the Ministry of Justice
Agency overview
Formed1 March 1955
Preceding agency
JurisdictionRepublic of China (Taiwan)
HeadquartersShilin, Taipei
Motto安如磐石 (As secure as a rock)
Agency executives
  • Tsai Ming-yen, Director-General
  • Chou Mei-wu (周美伍), Kuo Chung-hsin (郭崇信), Wang Teh-ling (王德麟), Deputy Directors-General
Parent agencyNational Security Council
Websitewww.nsb.gov.tw

History

The organization was created in 1955 by a ROC Presidential Directive from Chiang Kai-shek, to supervise and coordinate all security-related administrative organizations, military agencies and KMT organizations in Taiwan. Earlier, the bureau was nicknamed "China's CIA" or "CCIA".

The first Director-General of National Security Bureau was a three-star army general Cheng Chieh-min, with a background in military intelligence, who once was the deputy of the controversial Bureau of Investigation and Statistics of the National Military Council. (The "Military-Statistics Bureau" served under Dai Li, and even assumed command the "Military-Statistics Bureau" after the death of Dai Li in March 1946. As a result, the National Security Bureau is often seen as one of several successors to the Military-Statistics Bureau.)

Initially, National Security Bureau did not have its own field officers or operatives. However, in order to strengthen its ability to guide and coordinate other intelligence agencies, NSB soon developed its own field intelligence officers and training pool.

The National Security Bureau was involved in the 1980 murder of lawyer and opposition politician Lin I-hsiung and his family.[1]

Legalization

On 1 January 1994, shortly after the respective organic laws of the National Security Council and NSB were promulgated by the order of the ROC President Lee Teng-hui on 30 December 1993, the National Security Bureau became a legal institution.

Recent events

Though a few known intelligence failures of the National Security Bureau have surfaced in recent years, supporters have pointed out that the agency rarely, if ever, publicizes any successful operations.

On 1 June 2000, a former NSB official[2] who was a retired one-star army general made a personal visit to the PRC and was detained three days later by the PRC Ministry of State Security.

A former chief cashier of NSB, Liu Kuan-chun (劉冠軍), was suspected of embezzling more than NT$192 million (US$5.65 million) from a batch of money returned from Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 4 April 1999. According to the National Bureau of Investigation, Ministry of Justice, Liu left the country on 3 September 2000, for Shanghai, PRC. He reappeared in Bangkok in January 2002 and then went to North America. Liu is still on the run.[3]

In the afternoon of 19 March 2004, President Chen Shui-bian and Vice President Annette Lu were wounded by gunfire on the day before the presidential election, while they were campaigning in Tainan. This act of violence caused shock in Taiwan, and led to a serious personnel review. The Control Yuan impeached nine officials for dereliction of duty. [4] Among those were former National Security Bureau (NSB) chief Tsai Chao-ming (蔡朝明), former deputy chief of the NSB special service center Chiu Chung-nan (邱忠男). The Control Yuan said in an impeachment report that the National Security Bureau had received information on 18 March 2004 about a possible attack on the president, but did not take the report seriously.[5]

In 2004, former US State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary Donald W. Keyser has been arrested by the FBI for illegally handing over documents to two Taiwanese NSB officials who served as intelligence liaison officers in USA. Immediately, the director general of NSB, General Hsueh Shih-ming, had recalled crucial intelligence agents from the United States.[6]

The loyalty of NSB officials to the Democratic Progressive Party is constantly questioned. Traditionally, career personnel of law enforcement, intelligence agencies, and military organizations in Taiwan are labeled as pan-blue because most of them have been lifelong Kuomintang members. However, while the DPP is in power, the National Security Bureau has been attacked by the KMT and People First Party for alleged abuses of power. Despite statements from several NSB Directors General on the political neutrality of the organization, some controversial events have still occurred.

In 2004, Chen Feng-lin (陳鳳麟), a colonel of the logistics department, Special Service Center, National Security Bureau, confessed[7] that he leaked classified information regarding security measures at President Chen Shui-bian's residence as well as the president's itinerary to Peng Tzu-wen (彭子文), a former director of the center who retired as a major general. Peng, a retired one-star general, revealed on TV that he would not "take a bullet for President Chen." In August 2005, Peng Tzu-wen was indicted[8] for leaking national secrets on TV and for potentially putting Chen's life in jeopardy.

Structure

The National Security Bureau is subordinate to the National Security Council (NSC). Under the chain of command, the NSC is under the direct administration of the President. However, the Director-General of the National Security Bureau usually can and does report directly to the President, bypassing the NSC.

Chiefs

Traditionally, the successive bureau chiefs were exclusively military officers with the rank of three-star general, though this has changed in recent years. In 2003, President Chen Shui-bian appointed Wang Ginn-wang, a former Director-General of National Police Agency with a career police background, to the post of NSB Deputy Director-General. In 2007, Shi Hwei-yow, a former judge from the Taipei district court, former Director-General of the Coast Guard Administration, and at the time the Deputy Director-General of NSB, replaced a three-star army general (Hsueh Shih-ming) as the first civilian Director-General of National Security Bureau.

Field Divisions

As result of institutionalizing operations, the NSB now has six intelligence-related divisions --

  1. International intelligence
  2. Intelligence within the area of People's Republic of China
  3. Intelligence within the area of Taiwan
  4. Analysis of the nation's strategic intelligence
  5. Scientific and technological intelligence and telecommunications security
  6. Control and development of secret codes (the matrix) and facilities
  7. Armed Forces Internet Security

Centers

Also, there are three centers:

  1. Special Service Command Center: Presidential Security and Protection
  2. Telecommunication Technology Center (Code Name: Breeze Garden, or zh:清風園)
  3. Training Center

Oversight

This is also a special feature of the NSB since martial law was lifted. In addition to managing intelligence relevant to national security, it also takes charge of planning special tasks and is responsible for guiding, coordinating, and supporting the intelligence affairs in military and civil categories:

Military
The Military Intelligence Bureau, General Staff Headquarters, Ministry of National Defense (MND)
Office of Telecommunication Development, General Staff Headquarters, Ministry of National Defense (MND)
General Political Warfare Bureau, Ministry of National Defense (MND)
The Military Security General Corps, General Staff Headquarters, MND (Formerly, the Counter Intelligence General Corps of General Political Warfare Bureau, NMD)[9]
The Military Police Command, Ministry of National Defense (MND)

Civil
The National Police Agency of the Ministry of the Interior
The National Immigration Agency of the Ministry of the Interior
Bureau of Investigation of the Ministry of Justice
The Coast Guard Administration of Executive Yuan.

Directors-General
  • Cheng Chieh-ming (August 1954 – 11 December 1959)
  • Chen Ta-ching (12 December 1959 – 30 November 1962)'
  • Hsia Chi-ping (1 December 1962 – 30 June 1967)
  • Chou Chung-feng (1 July 1967 – 30 June 1972)
  • Wang Yung-shu (1 July 1972 – 30 November 1981)
  • Wang Ching-hsu (1 December 1981 – 14 December 1985)
  • Song Hsin-lien (15 December 1985 – 31 July 1993)
  • Yin Tsung-wen (1 August 1993 – 31 January 1999)
  • Ting Yu-chou (1 February 1999 – 15 August 2001)
  • Tsai Chao-ming (16 August 2001 – 31 March 2004)
  • Hsueh Shih-ming (1 April 2004 – 6 February 2007)
  • Shi Hwei-yow (7 February 2007 – 19 June 2008)
  • Tsai Chao-ming (20 June 2008 – 10 March 2009)
  • Tsai De-sheng (11 March 2009 – 11 May 2014; acting until 30 April 2009)
  • Lee Shying-jow (12 May 2014 – 23 July 2015)
  • Yang Kuo-chiang (24 July 2015 – 25 October 2016)[10]
  • Peng Sheng-chu (26 October 2016 – 22 July 2019)[11]
  • Ko Cheng-heng (23 July 2019) (acting)[12]
  • Chiu Kuo-cheng (24 July 2019 – 22 February 2021)[13]
  • Chen Ming-tong (23 February 2021 – 31 January 2023)
  • Tsai Ming-yen (31 January 2023 – present)

See also

References
  1. Pan, Jason. "NSB implicated in 1980 Kaohsiung family murders". taipeitimes.com. Taipei Times. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  2. Hsu, Brian (July 24, 2000). "Ting will stay despite NSB upheaval". Taipei Times. p. 3.
  3. Yiu, Cody (September 28, 2004). "Court clears Hsu of embezzling secret diplomatic fund". Taipei Times. p. 1.
  4. Wu, Debby (July 7, 2004). "Security chiefs impeached for 'failures' on March 19". Taipei Times. p. 3.
  5. Wu, Debby (July 8, 2004). "NSB alerted to attack on Chen: report". Taipei Times. p. 1.
  6. Lin, Chieh-yu (September 19, 2004). "Officials pull spy team from US". Taipei Times. p. 3.
  7. Chuang, Jimmy (September 9, 2004). "Presidential Office leak discovered". Taipei Times. p. 1.
  8. STAFF WRITER (October 22, 2005). "Former top security chief reprimanded in court by judge". Taipei Times. p. 2.
  9. 吳明杰 (2006-09-01). 媽媽咪呀 1.5億防共諜 軍方反情報 經費擴編15倍 (in Chinese). China Times. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
  10. "New NSB director-general, NSC deputy secretary-general named - Focus Taiwan". focustaiwan.tw. 21 July 2015.
  11. "NSB head, Presidential Office secretary-general resign - Focus Taiwan". focustaiwan.tw. 19 October 2016.
  12. "High-ranking officials quit over smuggling scandal - Focus Taiwan". focustaiwan.tw. 22 July 2019.
  13. "Veterans Affairs Council head named new top intelligence chief - Focus Taiwan". focustaiwan.tw. 24 July 2019.
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