The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Wednesday expelled five members accused of spying for China, including a former Presidential Office staffer.
The DPP said its Central Evaluation Committee had agreed unanimously to expel the five members to "safeguard party discipline and national security."
"The current international situation is grim, and Taiwan is facing threats from the Chinese Communist Party," it said in a statement. "The actions of those involved in the [spying] cases not only violated the laws of our country, but also clearly violated the discipline and core values of our party."
Photo: CNA
The DPP said it was the first time members of the party had been caught allegedly spying for China.
Among the five accused are a former aide to National Security Council chief Joseph Wu when he was foreign minister, as well as a person who had worked for Lai when he was vice president and then president, the Central News Agency reported.
The DPP did not say if the five had been charged and no one in the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office was immediately available to comment.
The number of people prosecuted for spying for Beijing has risen sharply in recent years, with retired and serving members of the military the main targets of Chinese infiltration efforts, official figures show.
The National Security Bureau said previously 64 people were prosecuted for Chinese espionage last year, compared with 48 in 2023 and 10 in 2022.
Last year, they included 15 veterans and 28 active service members, with prison sentences reaching as high as 20 years.
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
The New Taipei City Art Museum this weekend plans to celebrate its first anniversary with a two-day extravaganza featuring live concerts and a large-scale synchronized fireworks and drone display, the New Taipei City Cultural Affairs Department said. The two-day celebrations are to take place in the museum’s outdoor park, with markets and live performances by singers including Ann Bai (白安), Bii (畢書盡) and the Cosmos People (宇宙人), the department said. The highlight on both evenings would be the "Echoes of Light" show, an aerial spectacle combining fireworks and drone performances designed around the concept of "dual stages in the sky," it
RSS