Three Taiwanese affiliated with the China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) were sentenced to prison terms ranging from six months to a year yesterday for recruiting military personnel to spy on behalf of China.
The Kaohsiung branch of the High Court sentenced CUPP deputy secretary-general Wen Lung (溫瓏) to 10 months in prison, and retired military officers Chiang Chiung-lin (江瓊麟) to one year and Chu Hsin-yu (朱新瑜) to six months over contraventions of the National Security Act (國家安全法).
All three men were also fined NT$50,000 (US$1,510), although they could choose to commute their sentences to fines of NT$1,000 per day.
Photo: David Chang, EPA-EFE
Wen, who in 2016 started a business in China importing technology and crops from Taiwan, was recruited by Chinese operatives to develop organizations of former Taiwanese military personnel on behalf of China, prosecutors said.
Wen invited Chiang, who served in the air force, and Chu, who served in the navy, on a trip to China, where they agreed to join the CUPP, the court said.
Once all three men agreed to work on behalf of Chinese Communist Party officials, they used their own connections and networks to recruit active or retired military personnel, prosecutors said.
Chu became the head of a local CUPP chapter to help with his own efforts in recruiting, prosecutors said.
In 2019, Chiang attempted to recruit an officer from the air force’s Songshan Base Command in Taipei, offering professional opportunities and financial rewards, prosecutors said.
The officer rejected the offer and reported the incident, prosecutors added.
Chu and Wen confessed to their crimes, the court said, leading to their reduced sentences.
Prosecutors said that during questioning all three admitted to having met with “united front” officials and other Chinese intelligence officers.
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