Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮).
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨).
Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence.
Photo: Chien Li-chung, Taipei Times
Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence.
The district court yesterday granted Ho’s detention.
As part of an ongoing investigation into the alleged infiltration of the Presidential Office by Chinese spies, prosecutors said they found that former DPP member Huang Chu-jing (黃取榮) — a former assistant to New Taipei City Councilor Lee Yu-tien (李余典) — was allegedly recruited by Chinese intelligence while conducting business in China years ago.
After returning to Taiwan, Huang allegedly began collecting sensitive information in exchange for rewards, leveraging his political connections within the DPP to recruit additional insiders, the investigation found.
Among those he is suspected of recruiting are his friend Chiu Shih-yuan (邱世元), former deputy director of the DPP’s Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, and Wu Shang-yu, who at the time served as secretary to President William Lai (賴清德) during his vice presidency, prosecutors said.
Wu Shang-yu worked as Presidential Office staff consultant after Lai assumed the presidency in May last year.
Wu Shang-yu allegedly continued to pass on information about Lai’s itineraries — including details of presidential visits to allied nations — to Chiu, prosecutors said.
Chiu then reportedly relayed that information, some of which involved national security matters, to Huang, who allegedly transferred it to Chinese intelligence agents, they said.
Huang also allegedly recruited Ho, who had been working for National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu, including during his time as minister of foreign affairs, prosecutors said, adding that Ho allegedly began collaborating with Huang while still employed at the ministry.
Ho is accused of collecting sensitive information from the ministry and passing it to Huang, who allegedly conveyed it to Chinese intelligence operatives.
On Feb. 18, prosecutors searched the offices and residences of Huang and Chiu, subsequently detaining both and holding them incommunicado the following day.
Following the detentions, the Presidential Office dismissed Wu Shang-yu from his post. On Feb. 23, prosecutors searched his residence and office, and detained him for questioning. Wu Shang-yu was also placed in detention and held incommunicado the next day.
Prosecutors said they had been gathering evidence after they obtained sufficient grounds to suspect that Huang recruited Ho as a Chinese spy.
The investigation accelerated after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) publicly disclosed Ho’s identity, prompting immediate search and interrogation operations, they said.
Hsu on Wednesday at a legislative meeting accused a National Security Council senior specialist, surnamed Ho, of spying for China, but it turned out to be another person whose name is the same as Ho Jen-chieh’s.
The office of Joseph Wu yesterday said that Ho Jen-chieh had left his post at the foreign ministry in March last year.
The office said it would support the judicial system in administering sanctions against anyone who is involved in treason, infiltration or “united front” activities to the detriment of public welfare, regardless of their political background or identity.
Ho is the latest DPP figure to be implicated in an espionage case.
Last month, Sheng Chu-ying (盛礎纓), a former assistant to several DPP lawmakers — including former legislative speaker You Si-kun — was released on bail as authorities continue investigating allegations that he was recruited by Chinese intelligence during a trip to China.
The paramount chief of a volcanic island in Vanuatu yesterday said that he was “very impressed” by a UN court’s declaration that countries must tackle climate change. Vanuatu spearheaded the legal case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, which on Wednesday ruled that countries have a duty to protect against the threat of a warming planet. “I’m very impressed,” George Bumseng, the top chief of the Pacific archipelago’s island of Ambrym, told reporters in the capital, Port Vila. “We have been waiting for this decision for a long time because we have been victims of this climate change for
MASSIVE LOSS: If the next recall votes also fail, it would signal that the administration of President William Lai would continue to face strong resistance within the legislature The results of recall votes yesterday dealt a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) efforts to overturn the opposition-controlled legislature, as all 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers survived the recall bids. Backed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) DPP, civic groups led the recall drive, seeking to remove 31 out of 39 KMT lawmakers from the 113-seat legislature, in which the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) together hold a majority with 62 seats, while the DPP holds 51 seats. The scale of the recall elections was unprecedented, with another seven KMT lawmakers facing similar votes on Aug. 23. For a
Taiwan must invest in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to keep abreast of the next technological leap toward automation, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said at the luanch ceremony of Taiwan AI and Robots Alliance yesterday. The world is on the cusp of a new industrial revolution centered on AI and robotics, which would likely lead to a thorough transformation of human society, she told an event marking the establishment of a national AI and robotics alliance in Taipei. The arrival of the next industrial revolution could be a matter of years, she said. The pace of automation in the global economy can
All 24 lawmakers of the main opposition Chinese Nationalists Party (KMT) on Saturday survived historical nationwide recall elections, ensuring that the KMT along with Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers will maintain opposition control of the legislature. Recall votes against all 24 KMT lawmakers as well as Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) and KMT legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) failed to pass, according to Central Election Commission (CEC) figures. In only six of the 24 recall votes did the ballots cast in favor of the recall even meet the threshold of 25 percent of eligible voters needed for the recall to pass,
RSS