The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday acquitted former Taiwan Solidarity Union legislator Lo Chih-ming (羅志明) in a spying case, while it sentenced retired navy rear admiral Hsia Fu-hsiang (夏復翔) to five months for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) in the same case.
The ruling said Hsia was recruited by Whampoa Military Academy Alumni Association deputy director Hao Yifeng (郝一峰) and former China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification director Fang Xinsheng (方新生) in 2012 when he served as the Naval Academy’s alumni association president.
Separately, Lo, then-president of Taiyen Biotech Co’s (台鹽實業) Xiamen subsidiary, was recruited by the president of a Guangdong Province-based company named Lee Ying (李鷹), the son of a retired People’s Liberation Army Air Force officer, the ruling said.
Photo: Taipei Times
Lo and Hsia made their acquaintance through playing golf, and Lo made the introductions during Lee’s visit to Taiwan in 2013, it said.
Taking advantage of Lee’s pledge to fund tours, board and travel expenses, Hsia and Lo persuaded more than 48 retired high-ranking military officers to attend an assortment of activities in China from 2013 to 2018, the ruling said.
The events were free of charge and featured the promotion of “united front” rhetoric, such as “peaceful unification,” “one country, two systems,” and sometimes even the mention of unification with Taiwan by force, it said.
The defendants denied they were recruiting for China, but the Whampoa Military Academy Alumni Association and the China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification were both listed as subsidiaries of the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department, the ruling said.
Lo and Hsia put retired military officers in a situation where the Chinese could influence their thoughts and select those that agreed with Beijing’s views, presenting a credible threat to the nation’s security, the ruling said.
However, as none of the retired officers agreed to join the Whampoa association, the court ruled that Hsia’s efforts could only be construed as “a failed attempt at recruitment,” ruling that he should serve five months in prison.
That sentence can be commuted to a fine, it added.
After reviewing the evidence presented by the prosecution, the court said there was inconclusive evidence that Lee was a member of the Chinese military, ruling that Hsia and Lo’s involvement with Lee was not an offense.
The Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said that it intends to appeal the ruling.
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