Retired navy rear admiral Hsia Fu-hsiang (夏復翔) has been acquitted of charges of collaborating with Chinese spies, the Kaohsiung branch of the High Court ruled yesterday.
In a previous ruling by the Kaohsiung District Court, Hsia was found guilty of a “failed attempt at recruitment” and sentenced to five months in prison, which was commutable to a fine of NT$1,000 per day.
Hsia was recruited by Whampoa Military Academy Alumni Association deputy director Hao Yifeng (郝一峰) and former China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification director Fang Xinsheng (方新生) in 2012 when he served as the Naval Academy’s Alumni Association president, the district court ruling said.
Photo: Pao Chien-hsin, Taipei Times
At the time, Hsia was head of the Naval Academy’s Alumni Association and of a golf team whose members were mostly retired officers.
The Whampoa Military Academy Alumni Association is a known affiliate organization of the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department.
The High Court said that Hsia was appointed by Ning You-wu (甯攸武), then-director general of the Army Academy’s Alumni Association, to oversee liaison affairs for the Whampoa Golf Competitions, which have been held since 2009.
As a majority of naval officers reside in Kaohsiung, Hsia could hardly be said to be “actively” looking for officers to introduce to the Chinese, the High Court said.
It was “anticipated” that Chinese nationals would attempt to bring up political ideology during competitions and events, and while such acts went against the spirit of the events, Hsia had assessed that the members of his golf team — mostly retired naval officers — would not fall for the rhetoric, the judge said.
As the events were held at a time when cross-strait interactions were frequent, Hsia could not be said to be trying to “establish espionage groups” after cross-strait relations soured, the High Court said.
The High Court also upheld the district court’s ruling acquitting former Taiwan Solidarity Union legislator Lo Chih-ming (羅志明) of spying.
Lo, then-president of Taiyen Biotech Co’s Xiamen subsidiary, was allegedly recruited by the president of a Guangdong Province-based company named Li Ying (李鷹), the son of a retired Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) officer.
Despite his knowledge that Lee was affiliated with the PLAAF, Lo nevertheless invited Li to Taiwan in 2013 and introduced Li to Hsia, the district court ruling said.
Between November 2013 and November 2018, Hsia and Lo were allegedly directed by Hao, Fang and Li to lead nearly 200 retired military officers on all-expenses paid trips to China to help Beijing develop a spy network in Taiwan.
After reviewing the evidence presented by the prosecution, the district court said there was inconclusive evidence that Li was a member of the Chinese military, ruling that Hsia and Lo’s involvement with Li was not an offense.
Additional reporting by CNA
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