The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said that following the arrest of a senior official on suspicion he was spying for China, the military has decided to give all military officials stationed overseas a polygraph test before, during and after their posting.
Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu’s (高華柱) remarks came after one-star General Lo Hsien-che (羅賢哲) was arrested in late January on charges of spying for China.
According to preliminary investigations, Lo was recruited by Chinese intelligence in 2005, when he was a defense attache in Thailand.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
‘TEST OF LOYALTY’
Kao called the polygraph test proposal a “test of loyalty.”
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-Fang (林郁方) said that after returning from Thailand, Lo became head of communications and electronic information at the Army Command Headquarters.
When asked if Lo had undergone a lie detector test before assuming the position, Kao said he had not.
Lin said he supported immediate amendments to the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法) making it compulsory for intelligence officials stationed abroad or taking a vacation to undergo a polygraph test.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said military officials could feel slighted if they were to take lie detector test, to which Kao said: “National security is more important.”
AIRPORT CLOSING
Meanwhile, Kao said the military planned to close a navy airport near Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, adding the land should be added to the Taoyuan Aviation Special Zone.
Lin said that once the military acquired P-3C “Orion” marine patrol warfare aircraft from the US, it had proposed deploying six at Taoyuan, three in Pingtung County and three in Hualien County.
Lin said he feared closing the military base in Taoyuan would undermine those plans.
Kao said the aviation special zone was one of government’s most significant construction projects and that as the military had found an alternative scheme, closing the base would not have an impact on national security.
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