China said yesterday it had caught two more spies acting for Taiwan, publicizing the arrests in another apparent attempt to discredit President Chen Shui-bian (
The Global Times, a tabloid owned by the People's Daily, mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, splashed front-page pictures of Lee Yun-pu (
Lee, 42, who the newspaper said was a colonel with the Military Intelligence Bureau, was detained in December in Nanjing, the capital of the eastern coastal province of Jiangsu.
Gao Guoning (高國寧), a Chinese national and Lee's nephew, was arrested in the central province of Jiangxi, the tabloid added. It said Lee's spy ring had been broken after Chen made public, with pinpoint accuracy, the number of missiles in Jiangxi province aimed at Taiwan.
"This is the biggest Taiwan spying network busted by the mainland since the Liu Liankun (
Lee's arrest came on the heels of China detaining 24 Taiwan "spies" in December. Seven of them were paraded in front of reporters last month in an unprecedented move.
Taiwan's government had no immediate comment on the Global Times report. Chen's spokesman has said the missiles' location was public information.
Beijing's revelation appeared aimed at embarrassing Chen, who has riled China and alarmed the US with plans to push ahead with the nation's first-ever referendum alongside the March 20 presidential election.
China and the US have embarked on a flurry of diplomatic activity in an apparent bid to avoid any military conflict in the Taiwan Strait over the planned referendum, which Beijing sees as a provocative move towards independence.
"Both sides thirst to know the other side's bottom line," said Shi Yinhong (石印紅), professor of international relations at the People's University in Beijing.
"The Chinese government is likely worried the United States will not resolutely oppose the referendum after Chen Shui-bian toned down the wording," Shi said.
"The US government is likely worried we will resort to very strong moves," he said.
US Defense Undersecretary Douglas Feith is expected in Bei-jing this week, where he is likely to attend bilateral strategic defense consultations.
Chen Yunlin (
US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage visited Beijing last month and told reporters the wording of the referendum raised questions about the motives of Taiwan's government.
General Richard Myers, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, also visited Beijing last month and told reporters the US and China understood each other on the prickly issue of Taiwan.
But he also said that he had been firm with the Chinese authorities on US military support for Taiwan.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
RSS