Human rights advocates yesterday expressed concern about the possibility of government employees spying on pro-democracy and human rights groups for Beijing and called on the government to implement measures to stop such behavior.
The groups raised their concerns following the arrest late last month of Central Police University associate professor Wu Chang-yu (吳彰裕), who was suspected of gathering information on the activities of Falun Gong, Tibetan support groups and exiled Chinese democracy activists in Taiwan, with the assistance of two police officers, and then delivering that information to the People’s Republic of China government.
Wu is not the first government employee arrested for spying for China. Since 2002, a total of 13 people — including senior military officers, a Presidential Office official, as well as serving and retired intelligence officers — have been arrested for espionage.
The most notable case came in January when former Major General Lo Hsien-che (羅賢哲) of the Army Command Headquarters was found to have handed over classified military information to Beijing.
“We know there are Chinese journalists and academics trying to gather information on Taiwan for their government, but it is shocking to contemplate that people who work for our government could also be spying for China,” Taiwan Friends of Tibet president Chow Mei-li (周美里) told a press conference at the legislature.
“Enhanced cross-strait exchanges mean that we now face even more of a threat from Chinese espionage. I urge the government to establish a special commission to investigate these issues,” Chow said.
Chinese Human Rights Concern Alliance Taiwan president Yang Hsien-hung (楊憲宏) said the number of double agents who had yet to be uncovered was also a matter of concern.
“A lot of people have been arrested for spying for China, but what is of even more concern is how many more spies are out there,” Yang said. “When you spot a cockroach in your house and kill it, do you think that’s the end of the story and that the house is free of vermin? Of course not, if you see one, then there are bound to be a lot more out there.”
The government appears to believe the cases are isolated and it has so far failed to take coordinated action to uncover spies working in public institutions, Yang said.
Kong Shiren (孔識仁), deputy -secretary-general of the Democratic Party of China, a party organized by exiled Chinese pro-democracy activists, shared those concerns.
Taiwanese and the government may be “too relaxed” about the “threat from across the [Taiwan] Strait,” Kong said.
“I understand that, as a democracy, Taiwan’s national security cannot be as strong as that of an authoritarian government, but it should not be too relaxed about such matters either,” Kong said.
“Taiwan must remember that it is not without an enemy — there is a threatening power directly across the Strait and it has its eyes on Taiwan,” Kong said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned