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The Chinese Interest in POWs.
China has played an important part in Vietnam's history. Understanding that role is important to devising a strategy to return POWs. One part in that history is that China contributed to the mandarin and Confucian legacy, which is crucial to understand in order to work throught the political reality of Vietnam, outside of the communist party. It is further necessary to know that China had disposition over some POWs in South Vietnam and Laos, according to numerous CIA reports. One such location was a cave complex near the Pathet Lao Supreme Headquarters. There, some 80 personnel performed various support activities, including the interrogating of POWs. Since no one has told of this activity from the POWs returned, it is presumed those held are either still alive or have been transferred to another holding location. There are many other reports of a similar nature, including the sighting of Chinese advisers to units that captured POWs. These sightings began in 1965 and lasted at least until the early 70's.
Two other events are part of the Chinese legacy. One is part of the Son Tay POW rescue attempt. Approximately 400 meters south of Son Tay prison was another compound "accidentally" attacked by the U.S. forces. It is "coincidental" that this compound contained the only military threat to the attacking forces. It is also "coincidental" that of the forces killed at that location, approximately 100 - 200 of them could be fairly described as blonde, blue-eyed and "large orientals." Politely, we killed between 100 - 200 Russian and Chinese advisers to the Vietnamese Special Forces. These troops probably trained the counter SOG teams in Laos. As I wrote, "Some scores got evened at Son Tay, and some SOG casualties in Laos and elsewhere from the 'Special Forces' graduates in Laos were avenged." (Trails of Deceit, pgs. 184-185)
Overlooked by analysts is the role China has played in the POW saga. GEN Sejna testified his intelligence people discovered that Vietnam was sending POWs from Vietnam to China. China urged the USSR to "share" the POW experimentation results with them. When the Czech intelligence told the Chinese they would try, the Chinese told the Czechs, that's ok, we get some prisoners anyway.
China has more recently played a key role in the POW saga. In 1993, we know that the so-called 1205 document was found in Russia. We also know that the Senate POW Committee staff found that POWs were alive and prisoners at least through 1989 (their mandate for research ended in 1989) and that indicators were they were still alive through the Senate Committee's life. That report also went to the White House in 1993 (Senate POW report covered later). What also arrived at the White House in early 1993 was a shopping list from Beijing. It seems that while the main focus has been on the 1996 Presidential election, President Clinton and VP Al Gore would not have made it to the White House had not the Chinese, through their "subsidiary," helped fund Clinton at crucial times in 1992. When the funding plan worked, China, through it's "subsidiary" came calling for their just dues. In the way, were the POWs and unreturned MIAs. On the Chinese side were the ones who needed access into Vietnam.
Mochtar Riady, head of the Lippo Group, sent a private memorandum to President Clinton in early 1993. He frankly told the President to extend Most Favored Nation Treatment to China and to end the embargo to Vietnam. Riady, through his banking interests, had been the subsidiary above. He helped to sweeten the pie by donations of $100,000 to the Clinton inagural fund. More importantly, he worked to get his agent of influence, John Huang, into the Clinton Administration. Huang, although nominally not interested in Vietnam and China at the Commerce Department, got regular CIA briefings on these two countries. This is important because Riady's Lippo group told the President that they were ready to move into Vietnam and the trade embargo was in the way. In the way of the trade embargo was the POWs. Get rid of the POW question and the trade embargo left. China got it's most favored nations treatment in less than four months.
One might argue, as I'm sure the intelligence analyst team will, well, that's great. But Lippo is Indonesian, not Chinese. As the Thompson Committee and others proved, the Riady group are agents of influence with China. China knew of Clinton's plan to run for President because their other agent of influence, Charlie Trie just told the FBI that Clinton told him ahead of time that he would run. Charlie has long ties to the Chinese intelligence. So does the Lippo Group. In fact, after Clinton's election, aided again by the money spent by Lippo people, China invested into a Lippo Group on the Hong Kong Market, and after they got the most favored nations treatment, upped their share in the group, paying a huge bonus premium, so that they owned about half the stock. The tie to Vietnam and the POWs is that China had a man of influence in Washington, China wanted information on Vietnam, and Lippo was in favor of moves into Vietnam. It was business to them. It was intelligence gathering to China. It was politics for Clinton. IT was a disaster for our POWs.
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