Two employees of Tsung Chen Technologies (TC Tech) accused of violating the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法) had their indictments delayed by the Shilin District Court yesterday because they cooperated with prosecutors and their actions did not endanger national security, while a third employee will not face charges.
A police patrol in August last year came across a man, later identified as a TC Tech assistant, sitting in a parking lot with an antenna pointed toward a military radar station near the Xiaoyoukeng Recreation Area on Yangmingshan (陽明山) in Taipei, the court said.
Ministry of National Defense personnel sent to the parking lot to investigate determined that the equipment was manufactured by National Instruments and was capable of detecting, analyzing and recording spectrum measurements.
Photo reproduced by Huang Chieh, Taipei Times
The assistant and two TC Tech officials at the scene, a manager surnamed Lin (林) and an engineer surnamed Hsu (許), were placed under investigation for suspected treason, while the equipment, valued at NT$2 million (US$66,664 at the current exchange rate), was taken by the military for examination.
After a year of analyzing the data recorded on the machine, the military said unique signals of multiple military transmissions had been recorded as the users signal-hopped between frequencies.
Prosecuors said the equipment had been placed at the exact location where it could pick up military transmissions, but the information recorded was not of sensitivity that it threatened the government or could incite social unrest.
For that reason, prosecutors said they charged the trio with contravening the act, but not with treason.
Lin and Hsu said TC Tech was bidding for a contract to procure radio equipment for the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology and they were simply testing the equipment, but they pleaded guilty to contravening the law, the court said.
The assistant said he had only set up the equipment under Lin and Hsu’s instructions and did not know what they wanted to use it for, the court said.
As there is no proof that Lin and Hsu had divulged any of the recorded information to China or other nations, and they cooperated with authorities, the court decided to not to indict them at this time.
However, the court reminded the public that such acts could be punishable by up to five years in prison.
It also called on individuals and companies not to try to monitor electronic signals from military facilities.
‘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