Who is the biggest espionage threat to the US? It is no longer Russia, the Cold War archenemy, nor the recently fashionable "axis of evil" countries -- Iran, Iraq and North Korea. The rapidly rising China has replaced the Soviet Union as the biggest espionage threat to the US in the past decade.
Among the spies who have emerged in recent years are Larry Chin (
According to an FBI estimate, Beijing has set up more than 3,000 front companies in the US to cover espionage activities. In addition, many of the Chinese students, businessmen and visitors entering the US every year are believed to be on intelligence-gathering missions. For the US, China poses a multi-faceted, all-round threat of infiltration. Chinese spies are not only increasing in number but also gradually expanding the scope of their work to reach the core of the US national security establishment.
On Tuesday, Taiwan's law enforcement authorities exposed a Chinese spy ring. Yeh Chen-yu (
Along with the increase in cross-strait exchanges, Chinese citizens coming to Taiwan as immigrants, businessmen or tourists -- as well as Taiwanese citizens doing the same in China -- can be recruited by Chinese intelligence agencies and become Beijing's spies.
From the recent increase in Chinese spy cases, and from the expanding scope of infiltration into the military and defense research institutions, one can easily see the alarming loopholes in Taiwan's national security. These cases tell us that China is not just Taiwan's top enemy in intelligence security work. Chinese espionage activities have also become the biggest potential threat to American security.
Taiwan has many years of experience in dealing with Chinese spies and has a deep understanding of Beijing's intelligence-gathering strategies and operations. The US has advanced intelligence and counter-intelligence technologies and facilities. Taiwan and the US need to increase their intelligence cooperation to ensure the security of both sides and to stop the harm done by the Chinese spy network to the security of Taiwan, the US, Asia and the world.
Both Taiwan and the US are victims in this most recent case of Chinese espionage. It is not appropriate for the US to restrict the transfer of military technologies or curb weapons sales to Taiwan on account of this case. No side stands to benefit from such an act.
By restricting weapons sales and the transfer of defense technologies, the US will be falling into China's trap -- Beijing has always been trying to sow discord between Taiwan and the US. Taiwan's security will then be seriously harmed, and the US will lose one layer of protection for its defense security. The only beneficiary will be China.
Both Taiwan and the US should take this opportunity to review their intelligence and security systems, find the loopholes and jointly formulate strategies to resolve the threat. This will be the only win-win strategy.
In September 2015, Russia intervened militarily in Syria’s civil war, propping up Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorship as it teetered on the brink of collapse. This was the high point of Russia’s resurgence on the world stage and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ability to tilt the war in al-Assad’s favor helped make him a regional power broker. In addition to enhancing Putin’s stature, the operation led to strategic gains that gave Russia leverage vis-a-vis regional and Western powers. Syria was thus a status symbol for the Kremlin. Putin, who sees Russia as a great power on par with the US and China, attaches
With Washington substantially off-guard in power transition, China’s supreme leader, Xi Jinping (習近平), is intensifying an anti-corruption campaign against the top military leadership. At a glance, the move seems to be consistent with his emphasis on the necessity of enhancing military preparedness for a possible full military invasion of Taiwan, because the military is required to be well-disciplined without corruption. Looking carefully, however, a series of purges of several top military leaders since last year begs the question of what dynamics has worked behind the anomaly. More specifically, general Wei Fenghe (魏鳳和) and his immediate successor, Li Shangfu (李尚福), were removed as People’s
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers on Monday unilaterally passed a preliminary review of proposed amendments to the Public Officers Election and Recall Act (公職人員選罷法) in just one minute, while Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, government officials and the media were locked out. The hasty and discourteous move — the doors of the Internal Administration Committee chamber were locked and sealed with plastic wrap before the preliminary review meeting began — was a great setback for Taiwan’s democracy. Without any legislative discussion or public witnesses, KMT Legislator Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩), the committee’s convener, began the meeting at 9am and announced passage of the
In the weeks following the 2024 US presidential election, I have received one question more than any other from friends in Taiwan — how will Donald J. Trump’s return to the White House affect Taiwan and cross-Strait relations? Some Taiwan counterparts have argued that Trump hates China, so therefore he will support Taiwan, according to the logic that the enemy of one’s enemy is a friend. Others have expressed anxiety that Trump will put pressure on Taiwan to dramatically increase defense spending, or to compensate the United States for allegedly “stealing” America’s semiconductor sector. While I understand these hopes and concerns, I
RSS