A retired Taiwanese general and another senior officer were indicted yesterday for alleged involvement in developing a spying network for China.
The major general, identified by his family name, Chien (錢), and a retired lieutenant colonel surnamed Wei (魏) were charged with contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said.
The men were accused of assisting a Hong Konger surnamed Tse (謝) working for an organization in China’s Guangdong Province that is linked to the Chinese Central Military Commission, the office said in a statement.
Tse had visited Taiwan under the guise of doing business and recruited some retired officers by offering free meals and trips, attempting to use them to reach out to those on active duty, it said.
Among others, Chien and Wei tried unsuccessfully to recruit Chang Che-ping (張哲平), a top air force official who was deputy minister of defense from July 2019 to June last year, it said.
“Both defendants have the intention of endangering national security and developing a network for Chinese military institutions,” it said.
Chang, who is an adviser to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), was probed last year for his suspected connections with the case and was later named as a witness rather than a defendant.
Tse stopped traveling to Taiwan after the case came to light and is on the nation’s wanted list.
One of Taiwan’s worst past espionage scandals involved an army general who headed an intelligence unit, who was sentenced to life for spying for China in 2011.
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