The High Court yesterday upheld a guilty ruling against two former presidential guards who were charged with espionage, and ordered them to serve out their prison terms.
The judges withdrew a suspended sentence for retired military officer Sun Han-fan (孫翰方) and his nephew Wang Wen-yen (王文彥), a former officer with the National Security Bureau’s Special Service Center, ordering Sun to serve his three-year and four-month sentence, and Wang to serve his 22-month sentence.
The two were found guilty of breaching the National Security Act (國家安全法), spying for China and trying to obtain the closely guarded itinerary of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), as well as US and Japanese politicians who visited and met with Tsai in 2018.
Lawmakers and pundits said that the bureau and other top intelligence agencies must take heed from the serious breaches and vulnerabilities exposed in this case, as it revealed a concerted effort by Beijing to penetrate the top levels of government, its successful infiltration into the ranks of the security officers around the president, and its attempts to recruit Taiwanese military and intelligence officers to obtain classified materials.
Sun was recruited from the military ranks to work at the Presidential Office’s Department of Security Affairs, and had served as a personal guard for former presidents Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) and Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), a court statement said.
Upon his retirement, Sun went to China, took a job at a Chinese law firm, and was approached by a Chinese intelligence officer surnamed Fang (方), who offered him money to recruit friends and relatives in Taiwan to infiltrate and spy on the Taiwanese government.
“Knowing that Fang was working for a Chinese intelligence agency, Sun agreed to engage in espionage and recruitment work, as Fang promised to give him up to 10,000 yuan [US$1,542] each month, and big rewards for successful jobs, which included obtaining highly classified materials from the Taiwanese government and military,” the statement said.
After Sun returned to Taiwan, he learned that Wang had been promoted from his job at the bureau to serve as a security guard at the Presidential Office during the tenures of former presidents Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九). Wang became the head of one of the Military Police Command’s security guard units when Tsai began her presidential term in 2016.
Sun recruited Wang to procure confidential information that he passed on to his Chinese handlers. These included the names, ranks, job descriptions and telephone numbers of top officers in charge of security arrangements at the Presidential Office, as well as daily security guard rotations and details, an investigation showed.
Sun had treated Wang to junket trips to Bali, Singapore and South Korea from 2008 to 2016 as part of an ongoing effort to persuade and instruct him on obtaining classified materials, the investigation showed.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is unlikely to attempt an invasion of Taiwan during US president-elect Donald Trump’s time in office, Taiwanese and foreign academics said on Friday. Trump is set to begin his second term early next year. Xi’s ambition to establish China as a “true world power” has intensified over the years, but he would not initiate an invasion of Taiwan “in the near future,” as his top priority is to maintain the regime and his power, not unification, Tokyo Woman’s Christian University distinguished visiting professor and contemporary Chinese politics expert Akio Takahara said. Takahara made the comment at a
Upon its completion next year, the new Tamkang Bridge (淡江大橋) in New Taipei City is to be an important landmark in Taiwan, alongside Taipei 101, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said today. The bridge is scheduled to be completed in December next year and open to the public in the first half of 2026, connecting New Taipei City’s Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里) districts. It is an asymmetric single-tower suspension bridge, nearly 70 stories tall, designed by world-famous architect Zaha Hadid. The bridge aims to alleviate traffic in Tamsui and on the Guandu Bridge (關渡大橋), in addition to increasing the
EXERCISES: A 2022 article by a Chinese intelligence expert identified at least six People’s Liberation Army assault boats hidden inside the Hong Kong-flagged ship A Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship that had been docked at Taichung Port and which previously took part in Chinese military exercises departed from the port on Saturday, the Taiwan International Ports Corp’s Taichung branch said yesterday. The statement came in response to a post on the social media platform X by Taiwan-based journalist Chris Horton that said the ship, the SCSC Fortune, had been docked at the port since Tuesday and questioned whether Taiwan has any rules regarding foreign civilian vessels that have participated in People’s Liberation Army (PLA) exercises. Horton referenced a 2022 article by Chinese intelligence expert Rod Lee that
PROBLEMATIC: Popular hotpot restaurant chains were among the list of restaurants that failed the inspection and have been ordered to remove bad ingredients The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of hotpot ingredients in hotpot restaurants resulted in a 16.7 percent failure rate. Eight vegetables had excessive pesticide residue and two other items had aflatoxin and excessive preservatives. As the weather is getting colder, more people eat at hotpot restaurants so a random inspection of ingredients was conducted in October to ensure food safety, the department said. Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) said 60 different ingredients were tested: 15 high-risk vegetables, 15 processed food items, 10 soy-based food items, five meat items, five lamb items, five seafood items and five peanut powder
RSS