Four Taiwanese soldiers accused of spying for China
Prosecutors and the presidential office said that four Taiwanese soldiers, including three from the unit responsible for the security of the presidential office, were charged on Friday with taking photos and transmitting confidential information to China.
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Communist China and Taiwan (Republic of China) have been de facto separate states since 1949, but Beijing insists that the island is part of it. Therefore, there have been a series of espionage cases in Taiwan as China continues to exert military and political pressure on Taipei.
In the most recent case, the defendants included three members of the military unit responsible for the security of President Lai Tsing-jeou's office, and the fourth member was an employee of the Defence Ministry's information and telecommunications department.
President of Taiwan Lai Tsingde. Illustration: Office of the President of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
The two allegedly used their mobile phones to take photos of military information, which they passed on to "Chinese agents," according to the Taipei District Prosecutor's Office. Lii condemned "any treacherous behaviour that harms the people and the country".
"China has long used various means to infiltrate, coerce and suppress our country, and intends to divide and destroy the Taiwanese people's hard-won democracy and freedoms. Both the military and civilians must stand together to defend our homeland. If an officer or soldier commits treason, or treason for personal gain, it will be extremely shameful and will be subject to strict condemnation and punishment under the law," Lii said in a statement.
The four soldiers received payments ranging from approximately $8,000 to $20,000,000. It all depends on the level of confidentiality of the military information they provided, prosecutors said.
If convicted, they face up to seven years in prison.
"The Chinese Communist Party's infiltration campaign against us has never stopped," the defence ministry said in a statement, describing the four defendants as "treacherous and lawless".
In September, a former air force instructor was sentenced to 17 years in prison for "aiding the enemy" and passing military secrets to China.
Source: The Defence Post