The High Administrative Court rejected an appeal from a former naval chief petty officer who was dismissed for failing to report an attempt to recruit him for a Chinese spy operation, calling his unit’s action “reasonable.”
In 2022, the officer surnamed Tseng (曾), who was stationed at Zuoying (左營) naval base in Kaohsiung, was approached to join a spy network for China, the Kaohsiung branch of the court said.
Although he did not agree to the request, he did not report the matter to his unit as required by law, the court said.
Photo: Ge You-hao, Taipei Times
The recruiter was discovered to be retired air force colonel Liu Sheng-shu (劉聖恕), who has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for developing a spy network for China in exchange for NT$16.7 million (US$510,985).
Citing the minutes of his unit’s evaluation meeting, the judge said that as Tseng was responsible for ship maintenance, he was at high risk of leaking military secrets.
As he failed to reveal his contact with Liu, Tseng’s unit decided he was not vigilant enough and posed national security concerns, giving him a major demerit and deeming him unfit for service, the judge said.
The unit implemented strict assessment standards when evaluating Tseng’s case, the court said, calling its decision reasonable and rejecting Tseng’s appeal.
Investigators discovered that Liu asked for sensitive information from Tseng after lending him NT$20,000.
He also asked Tseng to install a GPS device on a warship and film a video pledging loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party, they found.
Liu, who joined a Taiwanese company in China after retiring from the military in 2013, was recruited by Chinese intelligence officers to obtain files on people working in the Taiwanese military and government agencies, investigators said.
In June last year, the Supreme Court upheld a 20-year prison sentence for Liu for operating a spy network in which six military officers were also charged with spying for China.
The 20-year sentence is the heaviest punishment in the past few years for military officers found guilty of espionage.
Additional reporting by Wen Yu-te and Jason Pan
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