The Supreme Court yesterday upheld the conviction of eight people for developing a spy network for China, and rejected appeals against the verdict. The High Court in August last year found them guilty of carrying out espionage activities in exchange for a monetary reward.
Three officers from the 601st Brigade of Aviation and Special Forces Command, Lieutenant Colonel Hsieh Meng-shu (謝孟書), and junior officers Ho Hsin-ju (何信儒) and Kang Yi-pin (康奕彬), were handed prison sentences of nine years, seven years and four months, and seven years and two months respectively.
Hsieh and several others, including 601st Brigade junior officer Lu Chun-fang (陸駿方), had filmed videos saying that they would surrender to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army if there is a war, in exchange for money, the court said.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Hsieh was promised US$1.5 million in cryptocurrency to fly a CH-47 Chinook helicopter to China’s Shandong (山東) aircraft carrier, the court filing said.
People with knowledge of the plot tipped off the Military Intelligence Bureau and the Political Warfare Bureau, which led to the arrest of Hsieh and his coconspirators, it added.
The case could be traced back to two Taiwanese businesspeople working in China, Hsieh Ping-cheng (謝秉成) and Chen Yu-hsin (陳裕炘), who are both retired army personnel. They agreed to develop a Chinese spy network in Taiwan to obtain classified military information, and to recruit friends and colleagues in active service, in exchange for financial rewards.
Beginning in 2021, Chen and Hsieh recruited several officers, such as army major Hsiao Yi-yun (蕭翔云), and members of the 601st Brigade and other units, including the trio, Hung Jui-yang (洪睿洋), Liu Li-chi (劉立齊) and army officer Wu Chih-peng (吳志鵬).
Wu was later acquitted of all charges.
In yesterday’s verdict, Hsiao received a 13-year prison sentence, Hung got nine years, Lu received a term of five years and six months, Liu received an 18-month sentence, while Hsieh Ping-cheng was handed eight years.
Chen failed to turn up in court. Reports indicate he had fled to China, so an arrest bulletin has been issued for him.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
A BETRAYAL? It is none of the ministry’s business if those entertainers love China, but ‘you cannot agree to wipe out your own country,’ the MAC minister said Taiwanese entertainers in China would have their Taiwanese citizenship revoked if they are holding Chinese citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said. Several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑) and Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜), earlier this month on their Weibo (微博) accounts shared a picture saying that Taiwan would be “returned” to China, with tags such as “Taiwan, Province of China” or “Adhere to the ‘one China’ principle.” The MAC would investigate whether those Taiwanese entertainers have Chinese IDs and added that it would revoke their Taiwanese citizenship if they did, Chiu told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper
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