New Taipei City prosecutors have charged a retired air force commander with helping China infiltrate Taiwan’s military and recruit officers in breach of the National Security Act (國家安全法).
After retiring from the air force in 2004, former wing commander Tu Yung-hsin (杜永心), 67, went to work in China, the prosecutors said on Monday.
Tu attempted to recruit Taiwanese military officers to work for China and collaborate with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the event of a war, they said.
Shortly after Tu went to China, he was approached by a man known as “Mr A,” a section chief at the PLA’s General Political Department, prosecutors said, adding that the agency became the Political Work Department of the Chinese Central Military Commission after major restructuring in 2016.
Tu allegedly agreed to work for Mr A, after being offered money and gifts, and promised to recruit officers and set up a clandestine network within the military.
After returning to Taiwan, Tu focused on recruiting his former colleagues and acquaintances, one of whom was an army lieutenant colonel surnamed Tsai (蔡), prosecutors said.
Tu allegedly tried to recruit Tsai in 2011, when he was the commander of a combined arms battalion, by offering him money, expensive wine and tea, and all-expense-paid trips to China and Malaysia.
Tsai told investigators that Tu wanted him to go on the trips to meet high-ranking Chinese officials, but he declined.
Tu allegedly said the Chinese Ministry of State Security was focused on penetrating Taiwan’s military and political structures, and that the recruited officers would not need to conduct espionage work, but would be “moles” who would rise in rank and be activated when needed.
Tsai said that Tu wanted him to switch allegiance to the People’s Republic of China, and asked to film him saying: “In the future, Taiwan will unify with China. If war breaks out between the two sides, I will not fight, and will cooperate with the Chinese motherland.”
Tsai secretly recorded his conversations with Tu and kept the money and gifts given to him, which he handed over as evidence when prosecutors and the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau began to investigate the case in September.
Tu has denied he was working for China, saying that he was just boasting when socializing with Tsai.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday voiced dissatisfaction with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), whose latest meeting, concluded earlier the same day, appeared not to address the country’s application. In a statement, MOFA said the CPTPP commission had "once again failed to fairly process Taiwan’s application," attributing the inaction to the bloc’s "succumbing to political pressure," without elaborating. Taiwan submitted its CPTPP application under the name "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu" on Sept. 22, 2021 -- less than a week after China
THE GOOD WORD: More than 100 colleges on both sides of the Pacific will work together to bring students to Taiwan so they can learn Mandarin where it is spoken A total of 102 universities from Taiwan and the US are collaborating in a push to promote Taiwan as the first-choice place to learn Mandarin, with seven Mandarin learning centers stood up in the US to train and support teachers, the Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan (FICHET) said. At the annual convention of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages held over the weekend in New Orleans, Louisiana, a Taiwan Pavilion was jointly run by 17 representative teams from the FICHET, the Overseas Community Affairs Council, the Steering Committee for the Test of Proficiency-Huayu, the
A home-style restaurant opened by a Taiwanese woman in Quezon City in Metro Manila has been featured in the first-ever Michelin Guide honoring exceptional restaurants in the Philippines. The restaurant, Fong Wei Wu (豐味屋), was one of 74 eateries to receive a “Michelin Selected” honor in the guide, while one restaurant received two Michelin stars, eight received one star and 25 were awarded a “Bib Gourmand.” The guide, which was limited to restaurants in Metro Manila and Cebu, was published on Oct. 30. In an interview, Feng Wei Wu’s owner and chef, Linda, said that as a restaurateur in her 60s, receiving an
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
RSS