Chinese efforts to obtain classified military intelligence from serving or retired members of Taiwan’s military continue, as shown by the detention this week of three retired army soldiers.
According to the Chinese-language China Times, the trio approached an active-duty army officer working at the Army Command base in southern Taiwan, whose duties involve the army’s operational deployment and who has access to information on troop weapon deployment.
The newspaper report said there was evidence and witness testimonies that the three — whose surnames are Chu (朱), Ho (何) and Huang (黃) — had been recruited by Chinese agents through another Taiwanese man who has been working in China for several years.
The three allegedly tried to entice the active-duty officer to collect information in return for money, the paper said.
The Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office issued search warrants and led a dragnet operation on Wednesday evening that included military and civilian police units, and Criminal Investigation Bureau agents.
The three suspects were detained for questioning, along with one witness, during the searches. The questioning began late on Wednesday and continued until Thursday evening.
After the questioning, prosecutors said Chu was suspected of leaking national security information and other espionage activities, and so they had placed him in detention at the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office, where he is being held incommunicado.
Ho and Huang were released on bail of NT$20,000 each.
The three deny the charges.
In other defense news, the Ministry of National Defense said on Thursday that security regulations have not been adequately enforced, as shown by an incident on Tuesday when a woman was able to walk into the ministry without having her identity checked.
“The officials in charge of security need to be re-educated,” said Major General Po Hung-hui (伯鴻輝), head of the ministry’s General Affairs Management Office.
The woman, surnamed Liang (梁), reportedly used a borrowed ministry ID to pass through at least three layers of security, before a soldier stopped on the third floor level of the main ministry building.
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