Amid a public outcry over the issue, officials and legislators are urging changes to terminate government pension payments to the imprisoned Ko Cheng-sheng (柯政盛), the retired vice admiral who was convicted of spying for China.
Veterans Affairs Council director Tung Hsiang-lung (董翔龍) told the legislative session on Thursday that he agrees with concerns expressed by legislators and members of the public that military officers found guilty of spying and betrayal of the nation should not receive pensions.
“For someone who is a traitor to the nation, then no discussion should be necessary. There is no reason for the person to continue collecting government pension payments,” Tung said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Pasuya Yao (姚文智) said he had obtained signatures from fellow lawmakers in December last year to push for a draft bill to amend the law and stop pensions to military personnel convicted of spying.
“However, the draft bill proposal was opposed and repeatedly stalled by legislators from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). Due to the opposition by the KMT, the draft bill cannot yet be tabled for deliberation in the legislature,” Yao said.
Yao also said that courts often handed out light sentences on espionage cases, and so we are seeing an increasing number of military officers caught spying for China.
“For retired military officers who were recruited by an enemy nation to conduct espionage, or use personal relationships to gather classified information, the judicial punishment should be the same as for any active military personnel undertaking such activities,” he added. “Those who are convicted on such charges should be handed a life sentence or the death penalty. However, the current law treats retired officers the same as civilians, who face a much lighter sentence.”
In a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, Ko was found guilty and sentenced to 14 months in prison for violating the National Security Act (國家安全法) by attempting to set up a spy ring in Taiwan and passing on classified military information to China.
A political firestorm was created after Ko remained eligible to collect a generous monthly “lifetime pension.”
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS