A retired air force captain and six active air force and navy officers were indicted in Kaohsiung on Thursday on charges of spying for China.
All seven were charged with violating the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法) by the High Prosecutors’ Office in Kaohsiung.
Prosecutors and investigators launched a probe in January, detaining a retired air force captain and three active military officers on Jan. 4, while three other active lieutenant commanders were released on bail ranging from NT$100,000 to NT$200,000.
Photo: Pao Chien-hsin, Taipei Times
The detainees included a retired captain surnamed Liu (劉), who is at the center of the investigation, an active commander surnamed Sun (孫), and two lieutenant commanders surnamed Liu (劉) and Kung (龔) respectively.
Following their indictment on Thursday, the court ordered the four individuals to be held incommunicado starting on Friday.
The three others involved in the case remain on bail.
The retired Liu began conducting business in China after leaving the air force in 2013, the investigation found.
He was recruited by China to serve as a spy and, using his military connections, recruit active military officers in the navy and air force to join the spying activities, prosecutors said.
The retired Liu recruited at least six officers into his spy ring and received “rewards” of NT$200,000 to NT$700,000 for each individual he brought into the fold, they said.
The money was channeled through a shell company, and he received bonuses of NT$30,000 to NT$100,000 if his benefactors were supplied with Taiwanese military information, they said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS