Taiwan: Father and son sentenced to 8 years for spying for China

In its ruling, the Tainan branch of the Taiwan High Court declared two men, identified only by the surname Huang, guilty of operating an espionage network that recruited active-duty military personnel to gather intelligence for China. Was done.

During the trial, both men confessed to their wrongdoing, according to the Tainan branch court, according to Central News Agency Taiwan.

According to the prosecution's case, the father and son, who previously operated a business in Xiamen in 2015, were introduced to a Chinese intelligence officer who solicited their assistance in setting up an espionage network in Taiwan. The purpose of this network was to recruit Taiwanese military personnel to obtain classified military information.

The indictment revealed that the Huangs were lured with financial incentives for their cooperation.

Subsequently, the Huangs enlisted the cooperation of two air force officers, identified as Ye and Su, and arranged for them to meet with Chinese intelligence officers overseas after they pledged allegiance to China.

The exact location of the meeting was not disclosed in the legal documents.

Together, the group obtained eight sensitive documents related to Taiwan's annual Han Kuang military exercises, either by personally delivering them to China or by passing them on to Chinese officials via mobile messaging applications.

Prosecutors revealed that Huang received a total of NTD 1.71 million (USD52,458) from Chinese authorities, while Yeh and Su were compensated NTD 210,000 and NTD 100,000, respectively.

Additionally, on Tuesday, the Tainan branch court sentenced both officials to seven and six years in prison for their involvement, finding them guilty of taking bribes as public officials and depriving them of civil rights for five years.

The Central News Agency of Taiwan reported that the case is subject to appeal.