CTi News reporter Lin Chen-you (林宸佑) was yesterday detained incommunicado by the Ciaotou Prosecutors’ Office for allegedly funneling money from China as bribes to lure active-duty and retired military personnel for military information.
Along with Lin, five active and retired military personnel were also held incommunicado for alleged contraventions of the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例).
Lin was detained for his alleged involvement with an ongoing case against a Marine Corps officer surnamed Chen (陳), who was indicted for allegedly receiving NT$210,000 to film a pledge of allegiance to China, prosecutors said.
Photo: Taipei Times
During the investigation, prosecutors discovered that several other military officers were also allegedly involved, and further inquiry suggested that Lin was involved, they said.
Lin allegedly contacted nine active-duty or retired military personnel who were short on money, prosecutors said.
Lin allegedly transferred funds to them from his personal account in exchange for military intelligence or classified information to be handed to Chinese contacts, prosecutors said, alleging that Lin’s funding came from China.
In a statement issued yesterday, CTi said the company was unaware of the case and has no comment.
It hopes for “a fair judicial process that neither lets anyone off nor punishes wrongly,” the company said.
The Ministry of National Defense said the case has entered judicial proceedings, and no comments would be made on the details.
In the face of Beijing’s infiltration efforts, the ministry would continue to educate military personnel on recognizing infiltration tactics, and encourages reporting of illegal or abnormal activities, it said.
It is establishing standards on security clearance levels and improving the management of sensitive information, it added.
Additional reporting by Lin Hsin-ying and Fang Wei-li
SILENCING CRITICS: In addition to blocking Taiwan, China aimed to prevent rights activists from speaking out against authoritarian states, a Cabinet department said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned transnational repression by Beijing after RightsCon, a major digital human rights conference scheduled to be held in Zambia this week, was abruptly canceled due to Chinese pressure over Taiwanese participation. This year’s RightsCon, the world’s largest conference discussing issues “at the intersection of human rights and technology,” was scheduled to take place from tomorrow to Friday in Lusaka, and expected to draw 2,600 in-person attendees from 150 countries, along with 1,100 online participants. However, organizers were forced to cancel the event due to behind-the-scenes pressure from China, the ministry said, expressing its “strongest condemnation”
Taiwan’s economy grew far faster than expected in the first quarter, as booming demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications drove a surge in exports, spilling over into investment and consumption, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. GDP growth was 13.69 percent year-on-year during the January-to-March period, beating the DGBAS’ February forecast by 2.23 percentage points and marking the most robust growth in nearly four decades, DGBAS senior official Chiang Hsin-yi (江心怡) told a news conference in Taipei. The result was powered by exports, which remain the backbone of Taiwan’s economy, Chiang said. Outbound shipments jumped 51.12 percent year-on-year to
DELAYED BUT DETERMINED: The president’s visit highlights Taiwan’s right to international engagement amid regional pressure from China President Willaim Lai (賴清德) yesterday arrived in Eswatini, more than a week after his planned visit to Taiwan’s sole African ally was suspended because of revoked overflight permits. “The visit, originally scheduled for April 22, was postponed due to unforeseen external factors,” Lai wrote on social media. “After several days of careful arrangements by our diplomatic and national security teams, we successfully arrived today.” Lai said he looked forward to further deepening Taiwan-Eswatini relations through closer cooperation in the economy, agriculture, culture and education, as well as advancing the nation’s international partnerships. The president was initially scheduled to arrive in time to celebrate
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) yesterday said the US faced a choice between an “impossible” military operation or a “bad deal” with Tehran, after US President Donald Trump disparaged Iran’s latest peace proposal. Negotiations between the two countries have been deadlocked since a ceasefire came into effect on April 8, with only one round of direct peace talks held so far. Iran’s Tasnim and Fars news agencies reported that Tehran had submitted a 14-point proposal to mediator Pakistan, but Trump was quick to cast doubt on it. “I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but
RSS