Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.
The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said.
On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang added.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The prosecutors were asked to add the officers on WeChat to stay in contact, but the prosecutors “remained vigilant” and refused the request, Liang said, adding that they were not threatened during the questioning.
However, in some cases, Chinese authorities have used a Taiwanese’s relatives in China to pressure or threaten them, he said.
As for the prosecutors’ backgrounds, Liang said that they were relatively new to the job and had not handled cases involving national security or alleged Chinese espionage.
On how the officers obtained the prosecutors’ information, Liang said that Beijing has “many ways” to obtain such details, citing China’s “many infiltration channels” in Taiwan.
He did not rule out cyberattacks.
The prosecutors reported the incident upon returning to Taiwan, he said, adding that the council has detailed rules requiring public servants who travel to China to file relevant information after they return and to report any “unusual situations.”
“We want to remind public servants nationwide not to assume there is no risk of being monitored or investigated when traveling to China, simply because they do not have access to state secrets or do not hold senior positions,” Liang added.
Chinese authorities are exploiting Taiwanese public servants’ “lack of risk awareness and vigilance” to continuously expand their infiltration networks, he said.
On Jan. 16, Liang said the council had “recently” received reports from public servants at central government agencies saying that during trips to China, they were questioned by immigration officers.
Chinese state security personnel also entered their hotel rooms to question them about their duties, supervisors and colleagues, the reports said.
At the time, Liang did not disclose how many such cases had been reported.
Yesterday, he said that the two prosecutors’ cases were separate from the cases he referred to on Jan. 16.
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