The Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday that it had never faltered in its efforts to repatriate secret agents who were caught and jailed in China.
The MND’s comments came in a statement released yesterday after retired major general Chen Hu-men (陳虎門) said in an interview printed in yesterday’s Chinese-language China Times that he had urged the government to negotiate with China about securing the release of Taiwanese secret agents from Chinese jails.
Taiwanese authorities should reciprocate and release Chinese secret agents who are jailed in Taiwan as part of a trade, he said.
Chen was identified as a former management-level employee of the Military Intelligence Agency.
Chen said that he assigned many secret agents to work in China when he was with the agency so he felt responsible to help free them from jail so they could return to Taiwan.
The ministry said it would follow government policy, waiting to see if it decides to make a trade with the Chinese government.
“This issue concerns cross-strait policy and is beyond the MND’s jurisdiction. We shall follow government policy if the authorities decide to release Chinese secret agents to the Chinese government in exchange for over own agents who were caught and jailed in China,” the release read.
The MND said that while the military has been trying to secure the release of its own secret agents, military personnel have also been taking care of the agents’ family members in Taiwan.
“Due to national security concerns, we cannot reveal too much information about our secret agents’ work in China,” the press release said.
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