The High Prosecutors’ Office today said it has indicted retired army lieutenant general Kao An-kuo (高安國) and five others for allegedly developing an organization in Taiwan to assist China in the event of a military invasion.
The six defendants were suspected of contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and have been transferred to the Taiwan High Court, the office said.
The court ruled to detain them prohibiting any outside contact, it added.
Photo: Reuters
After retiring from the army, Kao created the pro-unification group “Republic of China Taiwan Military Government,” the office said in a news release.
Together with a military spokesman surnamed Hou (侯) and a woman surnamed Liu (劉), Kao was recruited by Chinese intelligence personnel in 2019 after several exchanges.
Hou and Liu are suspected of soliciting financial support from the Chinese military to establish armed organizations and operational bases in Taiwan, prosecutors said.
The six defendants collectively received financial proceeds from China totaling more than NT$9.62 million (US$294,041), they said.
Hou and Liu also recruited former military colleagues to subvert the government, conspiring to support the Chinese army in the event of a military invasion of Taiwan, they said.
The court should impose a heavy prison sentence of at least 10 and eight years respectively, as Kao and Liu put national security in an unpredictable and dangerous situation, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors requested that the other defendants receive sentences ranging from three years and five months to more than eight years imprisonment.
In 2021, Kao published a video of himself in military fatigues calling on Taiwanese military officers to surrender to China and overthrow the Democratic Progressive Party government.
Additional reporting by Jason Pan
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