Retired lieutenant general James Liu (劉湘濱) in an exclusive interview with the Liberty Times (Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) published yesterday blasted China’s attempts at espionage as “unprofessional,” saying he was infuriated over the alleged abuse of trust by retired lieutenant general Kao An-kuo (高安國), who he said tried to recruit him for his pro-unification network.
Liu, who also served as National Security Council secretary-general and deputy commanding general of the army, said he had only met Kao twice in the past four decades, once on Sept. 8, 2023, and again on April 24 last year.
Both visits were sudden, with the first being an invitation to meet, and the second due to Kao wanting to ask Liu’s opinions about resolving cross-strait tensions and maintaining peace, Liu said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
He attended the first meeting out of respect for a former officer, he said.
During the second, he provided Kao with copies of documents he had published before, he said.
Liu said that he was unaware that Kao had allegedly been turned by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), only becoming aware later that Kao had listed him as the head of strategy and planning for his “Anti-Independence and Pro-Unification Coalition.”
“I was infuriated that both meetings were premeditated efforts to convince others that I was part of his group,” he said.
Those recruited by the CCP, including retired military officers, are as despicable as cockroaches, Liu said, adding that such incidents also reflect poorly on the military.
Commenting on the fourfold increase in media coverage of CCP spy cases involving the military last year, Liu said it also reflects Taiwan’s poor counterintelligence.
Asked how Kao, a decorated officer whose father had fought against the CCP during the Chinese Civil War, might have been turned, Liu said it was an issue of money.
If the CCP had not offered cash, Kao would not be turned, Liu said.
Chinese intelligence relies on honey traps and bribes to tempt retired military officers, who should distance themselves from such temptations, he said.
Retired military personnel should be alert if former colleagues with whom they had long fallen out of contact suddenly visit, Liu said, adding that any wish to offer expertise to better the nation should be expressed via proper channels.
Mainland Council Affairs Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) on Thursday said it was concerning that 85 percent of national security-related incidents involved retired military and police officers.
Kao was charged on Monday with breaching the National Security Act (國家安全法), becoming the highest-ranked retired military officer to be accused of treason.
The Kao case is similar to the Rehabilitation Alliance, founded by 62-year-old retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), who has been accused of recruiting retired army personnel to develop organizations in Taiwan for China, Liang said.
Liang called on the judiciary and prosecution to give such cases greater attention, as they suggest direct CCP involvement.
Additional reporting by Chen Yu-fu
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS