The McLaughlin Group show invited Taiwan Civil Government delegation into ABC studio

An eighteen member Taiwan Civil Government delegation traveled from Taipei to Washington and attended the filming of The McLaughlin Group talk show on May 24. TCG was a sponsor of the program. The junket, two weeks after the political fraud arrests of TCG leaders Roger and Julian Lin, seems unlikely just to watch a television show. Why did the TCG delegation come to Washington while the Lins are held in solitary confinement, incommunicado, and denied bail?

When prosecutors of the exiled Republic of China had the TCG headquarters raided on May 10 by police, large sums of money were purportedly seized. One might think the expense of the TCG delegation trip would have been better spent on a legal team in Taiwan for the seven leaders arrested. Obviously the delegation had other business in Washington than just watching The McLaughlin Group show.

There were two events the day before that the group would have had on their travel itinerary. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross was scheduled to speak at the Heritage Foundation under TCG sponsorship. Also filling the Heritage Foundation program were appearances by two Senators, Ben Sasse and Joe Manchin. Elsewhere in Washington, two Representatives were scheduled to talk about the new Secretary of State and his views on Asia in a Congressional Quarterly Roll Call Liveshow, also sponsored by Taiwan Civil Government.

Unfortunately for the travelers, Ross skipped out minutes before showtime and the Roll Call Live program was canceled after the Representatives learned of the arrests of show sponsors. The group did pal around with TCG lobbyist Neil Hare but little else is known about the activities of the delegation other than tourist pursuits. A source within TCG claims the delegation was expecting a private meeting with Secretary Ross after his Heritage Foundation remarks and they also were planning on visiting with members of the Taiwan Caucus in Congress.

The junket appears to be a bold face effort by the beleaguered group to push forward the TCG agenda of American intervention in Taiwan to expel the exiled Republic of China. However, the silence of the news media and the about-faces of Washington insiders who had accepted TCG sponsorship suggest, much like an iceberg, that there is more underneath than meets the eye The fraud arrests have opened an unfolding story, ignored by the English-speaking world, full of intrigue, mystery, international politics, and maybe even crime. However, each new detail or fact uncovered merely raises more unanswered questions. As an old song lyric says, there is something going on.