The High Prosecutors' Office today indicted seven people, including a man from Hong Kong and six former and active service members, on charges of spying for China.
Ting Hsiao-hu (丁小琥), a Chinese man who holds Hong Kong citizenship, entered Taiwan multiple times on business and tourist visas to develop an espionage network, prosecutors said.
Ting recruited retired military officers Wang Wen-hao (王文豪) and Tan Chun-ming (譚俊明) , who in turn recruited former colleagues and subordinates to gather classified military information, prosecutors said.
Photo: Reuters
The prosecutors’ investigation identified four other active and retired military personnel who were allegedly involved in the case, as well as two others who have passed away.
The group was paid based on the value of the intelligence provided, prosecutors said, adding that members were also encouraged to urge active-duty personnel to passively resist or surrender in the event of a cross-strait conflict.
Ting, who was believed to be instructed by the Chinese People's Liberation Army General Political Department’s Nanjing work station, funneled more than NT$11.12 million (US$356,262) into Taiwan through accomplice Chen Chun-an (陳俊安) using underground money transfers to fund the operation, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors on July 24 conducted four raids on 21 locations, summoned 13 people for questioning and investigated 16 people.
The High Prosecutors’ Office indicted Ting and six others for breaching the National Security Act (國家安全法), the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法) and the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍刑法).
They are to be transferred to the High Court today to decide if they should be detained.
It is disheartening that the six military personnel betrayed their country by leaking confidential information, posing a severe threat to national security, prosecutors said, urging the court to impose a heavy sentence.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office separately charged Ting, Chen and Wang for money laundering, while it decided not to prosecute the two deceased.
The Ministry of National Defense today confirmed the arrest of seven suspects for alleged involvement in a Chinese espionage case, including two active-duty officers.
An internal investigation found a suspicious military officer, surnamed Yang (楊), who was referred to the National Security Bureau, the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and other agencies, it said.
The ministry said it strongly condemned the “treasonous behavior” of personnel who breached their oath of loyalty.
China has been developing organizations in Taiwan and its infiltration efforts have never ceased, it said.
The ministry has fully implemented security vetting mechanisms for personnel handling classified information, established access-to-secrets certification protocols, deepened counter-intelligence training and raised overall security awareness among troops, it said.
It also vowed to continue close cooperation through the national security joint-defense mechanism to safeguard the nation.
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