Three former officials from the Military Intelligence Bureau were yesterday sentenced to at least 10 months in prison after being found guilty of developing a spy ring and passing secret intelligence to China after their retirement.
The Taipei District Court sentenced retired colonel Chang Chao-jan (張超然) to 18 months in prison, while retired major general Yueh Chih-chung (岳志忠) and retired colonel Chou Tien-tzu (周天慈) were sentenced to 10 months and 14 months respectively.
The verdict can be appealed.
Photo: Chien Jung-feng, Taipei Times
Another retired colonel implicated in the case, Wang Ta-wang (王大旺), was found not guilty and acquitted due to a lack of evidence, the court said.
The four former military officers in February 2021 were indicted by the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on charges of contravening the National Intelligence Service Act (國家情報工作法) and the National Security Act (國家安全法).
The charges included leaking information about Taiwan’s intelligence sources, organizations and personnel, and developing a spy ring on behalf of China.
Prosecutors alleged that Chang, Yueh and Chou were recruited by Chinese intelligence, which offered business incentives, cash rewards and free trips, after their retirement.
Chang was recruited when he traveled to China to help a former colleague who was arrested by the Chinese authorities in 1999, the indictment said.
He was then instructed to arrange trips for other retired military intelligence officers to visit China. These people would either be asked or “forced” to provide sensitive information.
Yueh, who was in charge of China-related intelligence work when working at the bureau, was recruited by Chang in 2012 when he wanted to visit relatives in China, but was worried about being arrested by the Chinese authorities because of his former work, prosecutors said.
Chang assured Yueh that he could return to Taiwan safely, as long as he gave intelligence information to a Chinese intelligence officer, which Yueh agreed to do.
Meanwhile, Chou was said to have begun working for the Chinese authorities after becoming involved in a real-estate dispute in China’s Hainan Province that year.
Wang was also suspected of having been recruited through Chang, and gave information about his colleagues during a trip to China, prosecutors said.
The Central Election Commission has amended election and recall regulations to require elected office candidates to provide proof that they have no Chinese citizenship, a Cabinet report said. The commission on Oct. 29 last year revised the Measures for the Permission of Family-based Residence, Long-term Residence and Settlement of People from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民在台灣地區依親居留長期居留或定居許可辦法), the Executive Yuan said in a report it submitted to the legislature for review. The revision requires Chinese citizens applying for permanent residency to submit notarial documents showing that they have lost their Chinese household record and have renounced — or have never
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 12:37pm today, with clear shaking felt across much of northern Taiwan. There were no immediate reports of damage. The epicenter of the quake was 16.9km east-southeast of Yilan County Hall offshore at a depth of 66.8km, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. The maximum intensity registered at a 4 in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳) on Taiwan’s seven-tier scale. Other parts of Yilan, as well as certain areas of Hualien County, Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu County, Taichung and Miaoli County, recorded intensities of 3. Residents of Yilan County and Taipei received
Taiwan has secured another breakthrough in fruit exports, with jujubes, dragon fruit and lychees approved for shipment to the EU, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency on Thursday received formal notification of the approval from the EU, the ministry said, adding that the decision was expected to expand Taiwanese fruit producers’ access to high-end European markets. Taiwan exported 126 tonnes of lychees last year, valued at US$1.48 million, with Japan accounting for 102 tonnes. Other export destinations included New Zealand, Hong Kong, the US and Australia, ministry data showed. Jujube exports totaled 103 tonnes, valued at
BIG SPENDERS: Foreign investors bought the most Taiwan equities since 2005, signaling confidence that an AI boom would continue to benefit chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) market capitalization swelled to US$2 trillion for the first time following a 4.25 percent rally in its American depositary receipts (ADR) overnight, putting the world’s biggest contract chipmaker sixth on the list of the world’s biggest companies by market capitalization, just behind Amazon.com Inc. The site CompaniesMarketcap.com ranked TSMC ahead of Saudi Aramco and Meta Platforms Inc. The Taiwanese company’s ADRs on Tuesday surged to US$385.75 on the New York Stock Exchange, as strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications led to chip supply constraints and boost revenue growth to record-breaking levels. Each TSMC ADR represents
RSS