The High Court on Wednesday handed a coast guard corporal surnamed Wu (吳) a reduced sentence, after a Kaohsiung court last year found her guilty of espionage and selling classified materials about the nation’s shoreline defense to a Chinese national in exchange for cryptocurrency.
Wu had received a six-year-and-two-month sentence from the Kaohsiung Ciaotou District Court on two counts of bribery-related charges. Prosecutors filed an appeal, saying the prison term was too lenient.
Wu also appealed, saying her punishment was too severe.
Photo: Pao Chien-hsin, Taipei Times
The High Court’s Kaohsiung branch in the second ruling upheld the conviction, but reduced her sentence to five years and 11 months. She was also deprived of her civil rights for three years, which could still be appealed.
Prosecutors said Wu was approached by a Chinese surnamed Wang (王), who found out she worked in the Coast Guard Administration (CGA). Wang asked her to obtain classified materials in exchange for cryptocurrency worth more than NT$70,000 (US$2,122).
Evidence showed that in late 2023, Wu took photos of classified documents stored in a computer at her CGA office, including drill records, reports on shoreline defense and information on southern radar stations.
Wu agreed to gather more national secret materials for Wang, such as critical infrastructure and defense plans on outlying islands, and was paid NT$500,000, prosecutors said, adding that she also handed classified information on coast guard and coastal fleets, radar deployment and personnel stationed at the Pratas Islands, (Dongsha Islands, 東沙島).
Wu asked fellow CGA personnel for the materials through Line, but was rebuffed, prosecutors said.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS