The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected appeals and finalized prison terms for three Taiwanese affiliated with the China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) for recruiting active and retired military personnel to spy for China.
The Kaohsiung branch of the High Court in March sentenced CUPP Deputy Secretary-General Wen Lung (溫瓏) to 10 months in prison, and retired officers Chiang Chiung-lin (江瓊麟) and Chu Hsin-yu (朱新瑜) to one year and six months respectively.
They were found guilty of contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法), which prohibits Taiwanese from developing organizations on behalf of China, prosecution documents showed.
Photo: David Chang, EPA-EFE
Chu was also fined NT$50,000.
His jail sentence can be converted to a fine of NT$1,000 per day of prison time or community service, the ruling said.
In 2016, Wen launched a technology and crop import business in China, where he was recruited by Chinese operatives to build espionage networks targeting active and retired Taiwanese military personnel, prosecutors told the High Court.
He was initially recruited by officers from the Taiwan Affairs Office branch in Zhuhai in China’s Guangdong Province, and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Political Work Department’s Liaison Bureau, the court said.
Wen invited Chu, a former navy officer, to China in 2016, and in 2018 took Chiang, a retired air force officer, to the Zhuhai Airshow, where both agreed to join the network. Another officer, surnamed Pu (朴), declined the offer, the court said.
In 2019, Chiang was caught attempting to recruit an air force officer surnamed Chang (張) from the Songshan Base Command in Taipei. Chang rejected promises of career opportunities and financial rewards and reported the approach to authorities, prosecutors said.
Wen and Chu pleaded guilty to the charges, qualifying for reduced sentences, but Chiang denied guilt and said that he had only invited Chang to join the CUPP, the court said.
The court rejected Chiang’s defense, citing wiretap transcripts and witness testimony, but granted him a reduced sentence as his offense was considered “attempted,” it said.
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