The US Department of Justice on Tuesday said that a former CIA officer had been arrested for helping China identify CIA informants, leading to their arrest or deaths as well as the collapse of US intelligence operations in China. The case is being called a blow of historic proportions to US intelligence operations in China.
Taiwan’s government also has serious issues with Chinese espionage; with spies and those they have recruited penetrating key military intelligence agencies.
The security of Taiwan’s national security and intelligence units is known to bother Washington, with former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) director William Stanton having been quoted as saying that leaks of confidential information are detrimental not only to Taiwan’s defense, but also the US’ trust in security cooperation between the two nations.
Given Taiwan’s close cooperation and intelligence sharing with the US, the government needs to be extra vigilant. It is imperative that the US does not view perceived lapses in counterintelligence activities in Taiwan as a backdoor for Beijing to gain access to US military secrets.
Taiwan faces a different situation from most other nations in that many of its citizens have either pro-China leanings because of their family background, political affiliation, national sympathy or pragmatic aspirations. Many do not identify with Taiwan.
Exacerbating the situation is that many Taiwanese identify so strongly with China as their motherland or that of their ancestors that they do not even see assisting Beijing in intelligence gathering as treasonous. This is but one avenue for China’s “united front” to exploit Taiwan.
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) United Front Work Department is committed to promoting unification using the Chinese diaspora. It is targeting specific groups in Taiwan as part of its tactics, including political parties and groups which support China, descendants of Chinese who retain roots in China, labor groups and military veterans, as well as Chinese nationals studying in this nation.
Beijing is not only interested in obtaining sensitive intelligence directly from military and government personnel, it seeks to infiltrate Taiwanese society at all levels. According to media reports late last year, there could be as many as 5,000 Chinese spies in Taiwan.
A recent case in point centers on Zhou Hongxu (周泓旭), a Chinese national who was convicted of espionage and trying to obtain classified material from government officials.
Zhou first came to Taiwan in 2009 as an exchange student to study at Tamkang University, and returned in September 2012 to enter a master’s degree program at National Chengchi University.
He returned in February last year to take up a job in Taipei and was detained the following month. He was convicted in September of contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法), but was given just a 14-month sentence because the judge said he had not succeeded in his efforts.
Zhou and prosecutors are both appealing the verdict, but a crucial question is whether 14 months would be an effective deterrent to future Zhous — or if even the possible full five year sentence.
New Party spokesman Wang Ping-chung (王炳忠) and three other party members were caught up in the fallout from the prosecution of Zhou. Their homes were last month raided by prosecutors probing possible efforts to establish a semi-military training unit for the CCP and Chinese funding of organizations in Taiwan.
It goes without saying that the government should be vigilant against spies. The repercussions are far-reaching and not only for this nation.
However, China’s united front tactics are pernicious and subtle. They equally need to be taken with the utmost seriousness. The law should reflect that.
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