An employee at the Presidential Office involved in an espionage case has applied to be allowed to resume work, the Presidential Office said yesterday.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said Wang Ren-bing (王仁炳), a career civil servant, had every right to apply and had already filed the request.
If Wang Ren-bing’s request was granted, he would be transferred to a different position where he would not be handling classified information, the spokesman said.
Wang Ren-bing was indicted on charges of providing classified information to China.
He was detained in January for allegedly handing over classified documents to his friend Chen Pin-jen (陳品仁), who allegedly passed them on to Chinese intelligence officers.
Wang Ren-bing was charged with violating the National Security Act (國安法) by leaking documents gathered during the last three years of former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) term.
The leaked documents contained information about Chen’s foreign visits, his political efforts against China and aid given to diplomatic allies. Information related to President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) inauguration in May last year is also believed to have been leaked by them.
Prosecutors recommended a three-year jail term for both.
The court has yet to rule on the cases.
Wang Ren-bing is the first presidential office employee known to be accused of spying for China.
China has denied any involvement in the Wang Ren-bing case, calling the allegations pure fiction.
Wang Ren-bing began working at the Presidential Office in 2001 in the office of former deputy secretary-general Chen Che-nan (陳哲男). After Chen Che-nan’s departure, Wang Ren-bing continued to work at the office of the deputy secretary-general under Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍).
Wang Ren-bing then asked for a transfer to the Department of Special Affairs in April last year after the Democratic Progressive Party lost the presidential election the previous month.
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