Army Major General Hsieh Chia-kang (謝嘉康), who is being investigated over allegations he leaked classified information on Taiwan’s missile defense systems to China, was released late on Tuesday after posting bail, prosecutors said.
They confirmed that they also questioned a second suspect, retired army colonel Hsin Peng-sheng (辛澎生), who allegedly recruited Hsieh, adding that he was released on bail early yesterday.
Both suspects posted bail of NT$100,000 and have been forbidden from leaving the nation, the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office said.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
Prosecutors said that Hsieh and Hsin were recruited by Chinese intelligence agents and attempted to develop a spy ring in Taiwan, in contravention of the National Security Act (國家安全法).
Hsieh was the deputy commander of the Matsu Defense Command on and the commander of the Air Defense Missile Command, where he had access to the specifications of all the nation’s missiles, including the US-made MIM-104F Patriot missile and the domestically developed Tien Kung III and Hsiung Feng 2E cruise missiles.
Travel records indicate that Hsieh traveled to Thailand and Malaysia, where he allegedly met with Chinese intelligence operatives and might have received financial rewards for acquiring and passing on military secrets to the Chinese, and agreed to recruit other people for to set up a spy ring in Taiwan, prosecutor Wang Po-tun (王柏敦) said.
The case first came to the attention of the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau last year, when sources told the bureau that Hsin was working in the tourism industry after his retirement and had been recruited by Chinese intelligence officials when he was leading a Taiwanese tour group in China last year.
Hsin, who had met Hsieh when they were serving in the same unit, persuaded Hsieh to obtain classified military materials.
In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense announced that Hsieh had been relieved of his job as deputy commander of the Matsu Defense Command and has been demoted to an adviser at the Air Force Command Headquarters, pending the outcome of the judicial probe.
“Someone in our military last year alleged that Hsieh had been in contact with a person who had been recruited by Chinese intelligence officers, and told our national security agency to investigate the case at that time,” the ministry said in the statement.
Raids were on Tuesday conducted at the two suspects’ residences, in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County to gather evidence.
The conclusions of the investigators will be passed on to the US, Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee (李大維) said yesterday, responding to questions at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee.
“The US is gravely concerned about intelligence leaks in the case,” he said, addressing questions on whether the case would affect US arms sales to Taiwan and relations between the two nations.
Additional reporting by CNA
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
RSS