The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday confirmed that two military intelligence officers imprisoned in China for nearly a decade were released and returned to Taiwan in mid-October, adding that it was not related to any spy swap deal with China.
Presidential Office spokesman Charles Chen (陳以信) said the release was the result of mutual good will demonstrated by both sides of the Taiwan Strait at the landmark meeting between President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Singapore last month.
“President Ma is pleased to see Mr Chu [Chu Kung-hsun (朱恭訓)] and Mr Hsu [Hsu Chang-kuo (徐章國)] being able to unite with their families. He also hopes that both sides’ good-intentioned interactions can be continued and lead to more concrete results in the future,” Chen said.
Photo: Lo Tien-pin, Taipei Times
Chu, a former deputy department head of the Bureau of Military Intelligence (BMI), and Hsu, a former section chief of the bureau, were given a life sentence each for espionage while carrying out their official duties in China in 2006, MND spokesperson Major General David Lo (羅紹和) said.
After being imprisoned for more than nine years, they were released and returned to Taiwan on Oct. 13.
Lo said that after the two military intelligence officers were given a life sentence, the government had done everything possible to secure their release since 2008.
Lo also said the government expressed the highest respect and gratitude for the dedication of the two officers and the ordeals of their families and would do its utmost to take care of their interests and compensate them.
They are the highest-ranking Taiwanese agents ever to fall into Chinese hands, according to a local newspaper.
The Chinese-language China Times, which first reported news of the swap, also said Taiwan later agreed to release Li Zhihao (李志豪), a Chinese spy serving a life sentence in Taiwan, in late October, adding it was the first time that both sides of the Strait swapped spies, which it described as an “ice-breaking” move that was historically and politically significant.
However, Lo denied there was any spy swap deal.
“Their release and return to Taiwan in mid-October has nothing to do with a spy swap deal,” Lo said.
Lo said Li has served part of his term, and requested parole many times before it was granted in late October.
On whether China has requested the release of former Army Major General Lo Hsien-che (羅賢哲), believed to be the highest-ranking Taiwanese officer to be caught spying for China in nearly five decades, the ministry spokesman said he does not know anything about it and that Lo Hsien-che is still serving his life sentence.
He said there are no BMI officers still detained in China.
Of those that have been detained for assisting the work of BMI officers, he said that they were either being released through parole or after having completed their terms.
The government would do everything possible to secure the release of those who are still detained, he added.
Additional reporting by Stacy Hsu
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
RSS