Chu Hung-yi (屈宏義), the leader of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, a minor pro-unification political party, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for contravening national security laws, the Taichung branch of the High Court said yesterday.
The court also handed prison terms to six other defendants: eight years and six months for Huang Kuei-kun (黃桂坤), eight years each for Tai Hsueh-wen (戴學文) and Lin Chien-hua (林健華), seven years for Chu Hsien-huan (朱賢寰) and Yu Tien-min (余天民), and three years and six months for Liao Yung-ching (廖永清).
All seven were indicted in August last year by the Taichung branch of the High Prosecutors’ Office on charges of contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法).
Photo: screen grab from YouTube
The case stemmed from a 2022 investigation by the Miaoli District Prosecutors’ Office into Huang, a Miaoli County councilor candidate, who was suspected of illegally receiving funding from China.
Chu, a retired military officer who had conducted business in China for many years, had established contact with Chinese People’s Liberation Army intelligence units in 2019, prosecutors said.
He was allegedly promised money to build an organization in Taiwan and recruit retired military officers to promote unification with China, they said.
Chu had drafted several documents for the party, including “Guidelines for Combat Operations for Chinese Unification,” prosecutors said.
As leader of the party, Chu recruited three people, including actor Liu Shang-chien (劉尚謙), to run for legislative seats, they said.
After estimating the campaign’s expenses, Chu requested funds from his Chinese contacts and received nearly NT$2 million (US$68,575) via WeChat and 150,000 yuan (US$20,925) through unregistered money exchanges, prosecutors said.
None of the candidates were elected and they were unaware of the situation, they said.
Chu also allegedly ordered other party members to collect the names of officers ranked major general or above, and to photograph and map key sites, including the American Institute in Taiwan, the Alishan Radar Station, Jialutang Beach and the Baoli camp of the Joint Operations Training Base Command in Pingtung County, prosecutors said.
The ruling can still be appealed.
Separately, Ho Chien-hua (何建華), former Chinese Unification Promotion Party member and former Chinese Women’s Federation head, was found not guilty of national security violations after the Supreme Court dismissed a prosecution appeal on Wednesday.
The Supreme Court said it found no fault with the High Court’s ruling, making the acquittal final.
Ho was indicted in 2020 for allegedly contravening the National Security Act by helping develop networks for China’s “united front” tactics and for collecting intelligence on behalf of Chinese authorities, in exchange for money.
Since May 2017, Ho had organized groups to secure funding from China and contacted organizations linked to China’s “united front” activities while hosting events with themes such as “Chinese spouses returning home” and “cross-strait marriages and families,” prosecutors said.
Ho was also accused of monitoring Taiwanese independence supporters traveling to China and instructing members of the federation to gather intelligence on Falun Gong activities in Taiwan.
In February last year, the Taipei District Court dismissed the charges against Ho that alleged she had received Chinese funding to develop organizations during a trip to Kinmen and Xiamen in 2019. She was also acquitted of other charges involving contact with “united front units” and accepting funding from them, with the court citing insufficient evidence.
After prosecutors appealed the verdict, the High Court in February reversed the dismissal and issued a not guilty ruling, citing insufficient evidence. It also upheld the not guilty verdict on charges related to receiving funding from “united front” agencies, saying they found no evidence that Ho intended to endanger national security.
Ho was listed as a Chinese Unification Promotion Party legislator-at-large candidate in 2020.
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