The alleged spying by a Taiwanese naval officer for China jolted the political community yesterday with lawmakers expressing consternation over the lack of loyalty in the military.
Fearing that many former military officials doing business in China may have been co-opted by Beijing authorities, they urged the government to soon develop an "anti-revolving door" policy.
Meanwhile, newly inaugurated Vice Defense Minister Kang Ning-hsiang (
DPP legislators Trong Chai (蔡同榮) and Peter Lin (林進興) issued a joint statement urging the government to take action to curb repeated disclosures of classified information by military and intelligence officials.
Military prosecutors have held Liu Yueh-lun (
Liu, a petty officer first class, was arrested last Wednesday on board the Shao Yang, the former US World War II destroyer he served on, investigators said.
A search of his residence uncovered numerous photographs of Taiwan's major ports, naval port maps and key naval vessels such as the French-made Lafayette frigates.
Chai cited documents from the defense ministry as saying that over 2,000 decommissioned military officers are doing business in China, of which 1,266 have moved their homes there.
Some of them have set up private detective firms devoted to spying on Taiwanese government agencies and enterprises for their Chinese clients, the senior lawmaker said.
Lin said that Beijing has cultivated many contacts in Taiwan and is seeking to woo officials from government agencies and political parties-including the ruling DPP. There has been a growing trend over the years for military and intelligence officials to take consultant positions in China's state-run businesses after they retire from their duty here, Lin said.
Liu is also suspected to have passed sensitive naval materials including communications codes to Chinese contacts through his father, Liu Chen-kuo (劉禎國), a retired soldier who has a business across the Strait. The senior Liu was taken into custody on June 6 for a probe in connection with his son's case.
Both Tsai and Lin called on the government to heed the revolving-door phenomenon and take steps against it. To that end, they suggested tightening checks on communications between soldiers in Taiwan and China.
During a trip to the legislature, Vice Defense Minister Kang said there are other suspects in the Liu case.
A military spokesman said that the younger Liu, in light of his rank, had limited access to classified documents. He could face a minimum of 10 years in prison or the death sentence if found guilty.
Still, the navy said it has changed communication codes in the wake of Liu's reported breach of military secrets.
Kang, a former Control Yuan member, linked recurrent misconducts by military officials in part to entrenched identity confusion in the country.
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