Taipei has vowed to step up anti-espionage efforts as authorities detained a lieutenant colonel suspected of spying for Beijing.
Taiwan’s defence ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that the military would strengthen education on counter-intelligence and increase vigilance.
It said the ministry and national security units had conducted a joint investigation after receiving tip-offs, and evidence had been given to prosecutors for further proceedings.
The lieutenant colonel, surnamed Hsieh, was detained on suspicion of leaking defence intelligence to Beijing via a middleman, according to the official Central News Agency. It said he was based in the 601st Brigade of the army’s Aviation and Special Forces Command in Taoyuan.
Hsieh is also accused of meeting serving and retired military personnel to develop a spy network to collect intelligence, according to the report.
It comes as self-ruled Taiwan is under growing military pressure from Beijing over what it says are attempts by the island – which it sees as part of its territory – to seek independence as Taipei develops closer ties with Washington and its allies. Most countries, including the US, do not see Taiwan as an independent state but many oppose any change of status quo by force.
On Monday, investigators searched the 601st Brigade and summoned Hsieh and the middleman, the report said, citing the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office. The Taiwan High Court approved the detention of the two suspects on suspicion of treason.
Under Taiwanese law, serving military officers convicted of treason face up to 10 years in jail.
Four others, including retired military personnel, were also summoned by prosecutors and later released on bail, according to the report.
Huang Chung-yen, deputy secretary general to the Presidential Office, on Tuesday said the case was “shameful” and should be thoroughly investigated and dealt with. He said government agencies and the national security bureau would work to strengthen security operations to prevent similar incidents from happening.
In October 2020, a retired Taiwanese lieutenant colonel was sentenced to four years in prison for spying for Beijing. He was convicted of trying to build a spy network and recruit another lieutenant colonel who was not charged as he had handed over the money he received to authorities.
Beijing is ramping up its own efforts to fight espionage. It announced in 2020 that it had cracked hundreds of cases and caught many alleged Taiwanese spies in a special operation called “Thunder 2020”. Four “confessions” by Taiwanese detained in mainland China during the operation were aired by state broadcaster CCTV.
Soon after, three retired Taiwanese military officers were also placed under investigation in Taiwan over alleged spying activities – two retired colonels from the Military Intelligence Bureau and a retired major general. All three were suspected of passing confidential documents to mainland Chinese officials during trips to the mainland between 2013 and 2018.
scmp.com