Laws should be amended to counter Beijing’s psychological warfare against the armed forces, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said on Sunday.
China has been enticing active and retired military personnel to help develop espionage organizations or to engage in psychological operations, such as by filming themselves “voluntarily” surrendering to China or signing a promise of their future surrender, he said.
Former army colonel Hsiang Te-en (向德恩) was recruited by retired lieutenant Shao Wei-chiang (邵維強) in October 2019 to work as a Chinese spy, receiving NT$40,000 (US$1,252) a month, which totaled NT$560,000 over 14 months. In January 2020, Hsiang signed a “pledge of surrender.”
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The Supreme Court sentenced Shao to 12 and a half years in prison and handed Hsiang a jail term of seven and a half years for corruption and bribery offences. The Disciplinary Court also removed Hsiang from office.
Hsiang said the sentence was unconstitutional and requested a constitutional interpretation, but his request was rejected.
The armed forces are tasked with defending national security, but Hsiang had contravened his legal duty by signing a pledge of surrender, promising to not only support cross-strait unification, but to also serve the Chinese government in case of a cross-strait war, the Constitutional Court said, citing the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The Constitutional Court said it decided not to review the case.
The Constitutional Court said that Hsiang’s argument, that signing the pledge was simply his personal opinion on cross-strait issues and that he had a right to freedom of expression, was not convincing.
In a separate case, eight current and retired military officers have been allegedly leaking classified military information to China since 2021.
Junior officers Lu Chun-fang (陸駿方) and Wu Chih-peng (吳志鵬) allegedly filmed themselves saying they would surrender to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, while then-lieutenant colonel Hsieh Meng-shu (謝孟書) allegedly agreed to fly a Chinook helicopter to defect to China. The suspects also included retired army officer Chen Yu-hsin (陳裕炘), who has fled and is wanted.
They had jeopardized national security, the Supreme Court said, giving them prison terms ranging from one and a half years to 13 years for divulging military secrets, and contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例).
The verdict can be appealed.
Commenting on the cases, Wang, who is also Foreign and National Defense Committee convener, said that Beijing intended to undermine the armed forces’ morale and Taiwanese’s trust in the military by making military personnel film themselves making remarks such as surrendering to China or promising to refrain from resistance in a time of war.
Such tactics are part of Chinese psychological operations targeting the armed forces to sap their morale, while those performed through Taiwanese celebrities are aimed at the public, DPP Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) said.
It is difficult to curb the latter through regulations due to Taiwan’s respect for freedom of speech, he said, adding that boundaries can still be drawn.
For example, the government could refuse granting funding to artists and celebrities who have made pro-China statements, Shen added.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
RSS