The High Court has sentenced Air Force Captain Chiang Fu-chung (蔣福仲) to life in prison after he was found guilty of passing classified materials to China.
The case is said to have significantly damaged Taiwan’s air defense operations.
Chiang was convicted on Wednesday on several charges, including disclosure of state secrets and committing an act of espionage for an enemy, which are covered under Article 17 of the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍刑法).
A graduate of the nation’s Air Force Academy who specialized in computer information technology, Chiang was stationed at the Air Force Northern Region Operations Control Center in Taipei, serving as an air defense controller and information officer.
In 2013, he was caught taking copies of classified materials, such as navigation control manuals and various air defense documents, from the control center to hand over to his uncle, a Taiwanese man who operates a business and lives in China.
The prosecutors’ office said that Chiang’s uncle acted as a go-between who delivered classified materials to China’s military intelligence agency.
Once, Chiang received NT$360,000 (US$11,365) as a reward, officials said. Prosecutors cited sources who said Chiang was in effect selling military secrets to China and had done so several times, as it was estimated he had collected more than NT$1 million from his dealings.
According to a court statement and news reports when the case broke in 2013, as an air defense controller, Chiang had access to top-level classified materials, including information on the “Strong Network System” (SNS, 強網系統) and joint Taiwan-US “Anyu Project” (安宇計劃), as well as electronic warfare communications and the parameters of the MIM-104 PAC-3 Patriot missile defense program.
Military experts said this case had inflicted severe harm on Taiwan’s military command, because air defense operators at the control center where Chiang worked communicate with other air surveillance systems and radar stations through the SNS, as well as with the US-made advanced E-2K Hawkeye early warning aircraft.
The “Anyu Project” was aimed at improving the nation’s combat and air defense capabilities with automated communication links among military command centers.
Due to severity of the military leaks to China, Chiang had been denied bail and held in detention since his arrest in 2013.
As yesterday’s Taiwan High Court decision was the first ruling on the case, Chiang can still appeal his life sentence.
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