Two air force officers accused of spying for China, retired Colonel Ke Chi-hsien (葛季賢) and Lieutenant Colonel Lou Wen-ching (樓文卿), were released on bail of NT$200,000 (US$6,4 02) last night after being taken for questioning at the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office.
After admitting to having been recruited as members of a spy ring and passing on classified military information to China, Ke and Lou were granted bail and released, but prohibited from exiting the country, prosecutors said.
The two men were transferred to the custody of Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday afternoon, after being detained and questioned on Thursday by officers from the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau (MJIB) section in charge of national security matters.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
Ke and Lou are suspected of espionage activities in working for a Chinese intelligence agency as part of a spy ring operating in Taiwan, which was exposed last year in a case involving former Chinese military officer Zhen Xiaojiang (鎮小江), who is alleged to have recruited retired Taiwanese military officers.
Information from the MJIB and other judiciary agencies said Zhen set up at least six separate operating teams of covert agents, some of whom went on to recruit their own subordinate agents.
The Chinese spy ring penetrated Taiwan’s army and air force, and also involved one civilian named Lee Huang-yu (李寰宇), who operated a nightclub in Kaohsiung City which was frequented by military personnel, the investigation bureau said.
The recent arrest of Ke and Lou highlighted how deep the Zhen spy ring has penetrated into the ROC Air Force Academy in Kaohsiung, which was raided and searched by the authorities on Thursday, pundits said.
The two officers who were arrested were experienced jet fighter pilots, with Ke a former deputy commander of the academy, while Lou was in active service as a pilot instructor at the academy.
Ke flew a US-made F-104 Starfighter during the “Taiwan Strait Crisis” with the firing of Chinese missiles in August 1996. Experiencing a fuel-line problem, which led to the Starfighter jet crashing in waters near the frontline island of Matsu (馬祖), Ke bailed out using an ejector seat and was later rescued.
In an incident on July 2000, Ke was a squadron member of four F-104 Starfighters flying in China’s airspace over Zhejiang Province as escorts for a military reconnaissance mission.
According to reports, they were met by a squadron of Chinese Shenyang J-8 intercepter fighters, where Ke and his fellow pilots survived the dogfight pursuit and returned safely to their base in Taiwan.
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