A former National Security Bureau agent responsible for protecting former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) was detained on suspicion of espionage, prompting lawmakers to call for increased penalties for people caught spying for China.
Major Wang Hung-ju (王鴻儒), a former agent of the Special Service Command Center, was arrested on Monday for allegedly attempting to develop a spy network for China.
Wang allegedly attempted to recruit a Military Police Command intelligence officer surnamed Tseng (曾) to gather information about operations in exchange for a large cash payment and safe relocation to China if Tseng was exposed. Tseng rejected the offer.
Photo: Tsai Wen-chu, Taipei Times
Wang’s activity was discovered by the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau during a probe into Taiwanese businessman Ho Chih-chiang (何志強), who in 2010 was sentenced to 14 months in prison for attempting to recruit a security bureau official to collect information about overseas national security officials; the security bureau’s satellite communication system; Taiwan’s Japan policy and “secret diplomacy”; the Tibetan independence movement; and Falun Gong activities.
Wang, a former military police officer, was transferred to the security bureau’s special service unit in 2002 to protect Lu.
He retired in 2003 and was allegedly recruited by Chinese intelligence operatives in 2009.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General Chen Chung-chi (陳中吉) yesterday said that no active military personnel are involved in Wang’s espionage ring.
The ministry has counterintelligence measures in place and warns active and soon-to-be-retired soldiers and officers against spying for China, he said.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus called for increased penalties for people caught spying for China, as offenders are handed moderate prison terms.
Among those convicted of Chinese espionage in recent years, former navy lieutenants Chien Ching-kuo (錢經國) and Lu Chun-chun (盧俊均) were sentenced to 10 months in prison in 2014, while last year former Chinese People’s Liberation Army officer Zheng Xiaojiang (鎮小江) and retired Republic of China Army major general Hsu Nai-chuan (許乃權) were sentenced to a four-year and a two-year-and-10-month prison term respectively.
“Those were cases that caused a national uproar, but only lenient punishments were given,” DPP Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said.
The Criminal Code stipulates a prison sentence of three to 10 years for people disclosing national secrets to a foreign state, but China is not seen as a foreign state due to the complicated cross-strait political relationship, DPP Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) said.
Spying for China is punishable according to the National Security Act (國家安全法), which stipulates a prison sentence of one to seven years.
“Chinese spies and Taiwanese spying for China have exploited the legal inconsistency to avoid heavier criminal sentences,” Chao said.
Chao proposed amending the National Security Act to increase the prison sentence for espionage to three to 10 years.
A preliminary review of the proposal was completed in the previous legislative session.
Chao and Chen Chi-mai called on the legislature to finalize the review this session to ensure that Chinese spies would be duly punished.
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
US President Donald Trump on Friday said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) told him China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in office. Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News, ahead of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “I will tell you, you know, you have a very similar thing with President Xi of China and Taiwan, but I don’t believe there’s any way it’s going to happen as long as I’m here. We’ll see,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ Special Report. “He told me: ‘I will never do
RSS