The Taipei District Court yesterday convicted Chinese national Zhou Hongxu (周泓旭) of violating the National Security Act (國家安全法), handing him a 14-month prison sentence.
It was the first ruling on the case and Zhou can still appeal.
The judges found him guilty of spying for China and trying to entice Taiwanese government officials to give classified material for financial rewards.
Photo: CNA
In particular, prosecutors said that Zhou had offered US$10,000 to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official to pass on classified government materials.
The judges gave Zhou what was considered a lenient sentence of 14 months, considering that “he had initially confessed to the crime” and that “he did not succeed in his espionage efforts.”
During the trial, Zhou rescinded his earlier confession and denied any involvement in espionage or recruitment, saying that he was coerced into making a false confession by investigators.
According to court documents, the 29-year-old, from Benxi in China’s Liaoning Province, was a student at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou.
He first came to Taiwan as an exchange student at Tamkang University in 2009, and in September 2012 enrolled in a master of business administration program at National Chengchi University. He graduated in July last year and returned to China the following month.
He returned to Taiwan in February as an executive for Taiwan Yong Ming International Co (台灣詠銘), which is registered in Taipei, but funded by a Hong Kong firm.
Zhou in 2014 attended a cross-strait conference in Shanghai, where a Chinese official surnamed Li (李) told Zhou about getting paid to “carry out tasks” while studying and working in Taiwan, investigators said.
Li told him how to become acquainted with Taiwanese politicians and to target people working in the military, police, intelligence and foreign affairs agencies, they said.
Zhou joined numerous social networks and attended functions to make friends in Taiwan, where he established a relationship with a Ministry of Foreign Affairs junior official, who he tried to convince to pass on information, investigators said.
In yesterday’s ruling, the judges said that Zhou had violated Article 2-1 of the National Security Act, which states: “People are prohibited from carrying on detection, collection, consignation or delivery of any confidential documents, pictures, information or articles, or developing an organization for official use of a foreign country or mainland China, for its militaries, party duties or other official organizations, or the institutions established and specified by the foresaid organizations, or the civil groups entrusted by the foresaid organizations.”
‘UNFRIENDLY’: Changing the nationality listing of Taiwanese residents to ‘China’ goes against EU foreign policy as well as democratic and human rights principles, MOFA said Taiwan yesterday called on Denmark to correct its designation of the nationality of Taiwanese residents as “China” or face retaliatory measures. The Danish government in 2024 changed the nationality of Taiwanese citizens on their residence permits from “Taiwan” to “China.” The decision goes against EU foreign policy and contravenes democratic and human rights principles, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said. Denmark should present a solution acceptable to Taiwan as soon as possible and correct the erroneous designation to preserve the longstanding friendship between the two nations, Hsiao said. The issue could damage Denmark’s image and business reputation in Taiwan,
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Cho made the remarks during a visit to the facilities of Cub Elecparts Inc (為升電裝). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝依鳳) also participated in the trip. Cub Elecparts has transitioned from the automotive industry to the defense industry, which is the top priority among the nation’s
SUFFICIENT: The president said Taiwan has enough oil for next month, with reserves covering more than 100 days and natural gas enough for 12 to 14 days A restart plan for the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) would be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Commission by the end of the month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, reversing the government’s policy to abolish nuclear energy. On May 17 last year, Taiwan shut down its last nuclear reactor and became the first non-nuclear nation in East Asia, fulfilling the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s pledge of a “nuclear-free homeland.” Even without nuclear power, Taiwan can maintain a stable electricity supply until 2032,
DEROGATORY: WTO host Cameroon’s designation of Taiwan as a ‘province of China’ seriously undermines the nation’s status and rights as a WTO member, MOFA said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned Cameroon for listing Taiwan as “Taiwan, Province of China” in visa documents for an upcoming WTO ministerial conference, a move that led to Taiwan’s withdrawal from the event. The designation “seriously undermined” Taiwan’s status and rights as a WTO member, the ministry said in a statement. It is the first time since 2001 that Taiwan has declined to attend a WTO Ministerial Conference. The conference is scheduled to take place from Thursday to Sunday next week in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. Taiwan had planned to send a delegation led by Minister Without Portfolio
RSS