Taipei, Dec. 14 (CNA) The United States has agreed to review the content of an agreement that grants Taiwanese diplomats immunity privileges, Foreign Minister Timothy Yang said Wednesday, one month after a Taiwanese diplomat was detained in Kansas City on labor fraud charges. Yang said the detention highlighted the incompleteness of the agreement and noted that the U.S. authorities have agreed to discuss what needs to be added with their Taiwanese counterparts soon. The Agreement on Privileges, Exemptions and Immunities between Taiwan's Coordination Council for North American Affairs and the American Institute in Taiwan was signed Oct. 2, 1980. Jacqueline Liu, director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Kansas City, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Nov. 11 and charged with underpaying and overworking her Filipina housekeeper. She remains in detention in Kansas City, despite her diplomatic status. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has formed an ad-hoc investigative team to look into the controversial case and an initial report has been filed, Yang said. Asked by the local media whether Liu is being paid a regular diplomatic salary while in custody, the minister said yes but the department of personnel will discuss relevant issues with her in the future. U.S. District Judge David Gregory Kays, the judge hearing Liu's case, delayed ruling on a plea bargain agreement before Thanksgiving and the Taiwanese diplomat might have to wait months before her release. Kays said he needed more time to consider the plea agreement, and an investigation report by probation officials is to be completed before the next hearing, which could take as long as 72 days, according to Liu's lawyer James Wirken. Yang updated the media on the issue, saying that a probation officer report has been published by the U.S. and that both Kays and Wirken have obtained a copy. (By Nancy Liu)
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