Prosecutors on Monday indicted 10 people in an espionage case, recommending life imprisonment for active-duty military personnel who pledged loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party on camera.
Investigators in 2021 began investigating a Chinese intelligence operation suspected of targeting active-duty and retired military personnel.
Searches in late July implicated a lieutenant colonel surnamed Hsieh (謝) in the 601st brigade of the army’s Aviation Special Forces, who prosecutors believe helped build a Chinese spy network to obtain classified defense materials.
Photo: Chien Li-chung, Taipei Times
The Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office on Monday indicted Hsieh and nine other current or former members of the military, requesting severe punishment due to the severity of their actions.
Two of the defendants are active-duty soldiers who were bribed to film videos declaring their willingness to surrender to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, the office said.
For them, prosecutors said they requested the maximum punishment of life imprisonment to serve as a warning.
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