Taiwan's media and a People First Party (PFP) legislator have lambasted the military after an army officer was sentenced to nine years in jail for leaking classified information to a newspaper reporter.
The military court accused Major Liu Chih-chung (劉持中) of profiteering by offering classified information to Hung Che-cheng (洪哲政), a Power News journalist.
PHOTO: LIAO RAY-SHANG, TAIPEI
Meanwhile, the Military Court Prosecutor General's Office also filed a suit in the Taiwan High Court accusing Hung of collecting military secrets.
The controversy arose after the publication of one of Hung's articles about a Chinese spy boat that strayed close to Taiwan's northeastern coast on May 19 last year, the eve of the presidential election.
Hung also reported that a military radar station had been sabotaged but no one had been arrested for the crime.
Reacting to the accusation and to news of Liu's sentence, Hung said that the judgment was ridiculous. He denied that he had offered Liu money so that he might obtain a scoop, for which he might earn a bonus, pointing out that he received no bonus payment for the story. He also criticized the court for failing to hear evidence in Liu's defense.
"I didn't receive any reward for that report, but the court sentenced Liu to jail for nine years without hearing any testimony from myself or the newspaper. I have never heard of any judgment like this," Hung said.
Power News also released a statement responding to the military's accusation. "We have never allowed reporters to pay for information or use any other inappropriate measure to obtain information. The military court's accusation of `scheming to make money' is untrue," the statement said.
Legislator Diane Lee (
"Classified information is separated into different levels. But according to the definition of classified information, what Liu leaked can't be counted as classified," Lee said.
Hung used a similar example that happened in Japan to explain that the information should not be considered a military secret.
"The same type of spy boat appeared off Japan last June, and the Japanese government released the information to the media of its own accord. I used to serve in the military. I have always been concerned about national security when I write my stories," Hung said.
On the other hand, Power News criticized the military for pretending to act in the name of justice to censor news content.
"We want to disclose the truth but not probe or collect state secrets," Power News claimed in its news release.
Chinese-language media have taken this case seriously. The China Times covered the affair in depth and accused the military of violating the freedom of the press.
The military has tried to limit reports to information from official news releases. It has requested that no personnel offer information or opinions to the media and warned that any individual violating this principle would be punished.
Facing the coming investigation, Hung said that he would be very disappointed in Taiwan's justice system if his case were treated differently than any other in Taiwan's High Court.Also See Editorial Inside
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