A businessman was found guilty yesterday by the Taiwan High Court’s Greater Kaohsiung Branch of allegedly collecting military secrets for China.
Liu Cheng-ping (劉正平) was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison by the court. The case can still be appealed to the Supreme Court.
Liu was accused of being persuaded by the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) General Staff Department to collect military secrets for China.
The ruling said that in January 2008, Liu became acquainted with a man named Chuang Yan-chuan (莊硯全) and learned that -Chuang kept more than 90,000 items of confidential military documents in 100 CDs for Lieutenant Colonel Chang Te-jen (張德仁).
Those documents included classified information concerning Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s military deployments and mobilizations.
On June 19, 2008, Liu went to Chuang’s house in Tainan and selected 150 items that he copied onto CDs, the ruling said, adding that two months later, Liu took the CDs to China and handed them to personnel from the PLA’s General Staff Department.
In August and September of the same year, Liu tried to get military communication codes from the military’s Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology.
Those codes included codes for the military’s commendation system, military intelligence and exercises, the ruling said.
Chuang is being charged with violations of the National Security Act (國家安全法) at a separate trial and was being investigated by military prosecutors.
PROCEDURE: Although there is already a cross-strait agreement in place for the extradition of criminals, ample notice is meant to be given to the other side first Ten Taiwanese who were involved in fraud-related crimes in China were extradited back to Taiwan via Kinmen County on Wednesday, four of whom are convicted fraudsters in Taiwan. The 10 people arrived via a ferry operating between Xiamen and Kinmen, also known as the “small three links.” The Kinmen County Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said that four of the 10 extradited people were convicted in Taiwan for committing fraud and contravening the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法), and were on the wanted list. They were immediately arrested upon arrival and sent to Kinmen Prison to serve their sentences following brief questioning, the office said.
Taipei and Kaohsiung have extended an open invitation to Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki after Chinese authorities abruptly canceled her scheduled concert in Shanghai. Hamasaki, 47, had been slated to perform on Saturday before organizers pulled the show at the last minute, citing “force majeure,” a move widely viewed as retaliation for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could draw a military response from Tokyo. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday said the city “very much welcomes” Hamasaki’s return and would continue to “surprise” her. Hamasaki, who has a large global fan base, including
‘REGRETTABLE’: Travelers reported that Seoul’s online arrival card system lists Taiwan as ‘China (Taiwan),’ the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday urged South Korea to correct the way Taiwan is listed in its newly launched e-Arrival card system, saying the current designation downgrades the nation’s status. South Korea rolled out the online system on Feb. 24 to gradually replace paper arrival cards, which it plans to phase out by next year. Travelers must complete the electronic form up to 72 hours before entering the country. The ministry said it has received multiple complaints from Taiwanese travelers saying that the system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in dropdown menus for both “place of departure” and “next
VIGILANT: Enterovirus activity remains in the epidemic phase, with the CDC urging caregivers of infected children to be on the lookout for signs of severe illness Influenza activity is rising in neighboring countries, and, with temperatures forecast to drop this week, flu cases are expected to increase in the next two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Hospitals reported 87,162 visits for flu-like illnesses between Nov. 23 and Saturday, which remained about the same level as the previous week, but nine deaths and 24 cases with serious flu complications were also confirmed last week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said. Flu activity reached a peak in late September before declining for eight consecutive weeks, CDC Deputy Director-General and spokesman Lin Min-cheng (林明誠)
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