By Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, Aug 27: The Taiwan High Court sentenced eight Taiwanese military officers to prison on charges of spying for China in exchange for financial gain on Thursday. The sentences range from 18 months to 13 years, marking one of Taiwan’s largest espionage cases in recent years.
The Taiwan high court stated that the defendants were involved in collecting intelligence for China, leading to the leak of important secrets. The defendants were reportedly motivated by financial incentives. The court also noted that an individual named Chen Yuxin contacted and recruited the defendants at key military sites to form a spy network for China. Chen is believed to have fled to China.
The defendants were accused of planning to fly a CH-47 Chinook military helicopter to a Chinese aircraft carrier in the Taiwan Strait and of creating a video indicating their intention to surrender to Beijing in the event of war, as reported by Taiwan’s Central News Agency. According to Timothy Heath, a senior international defence researcher with the RAND Corporation, the consequences could have been severe if Taiwan’s authorities had not intervened.
According to Taiwanese authorities, this sentencing is the latest in a series of espionage cases involving Chinese efforts on the island. Russell Hsiao, executive director of the Global Taiwan Institute, highlighted a shift in Chinese espionage tactics, noting that the convicted agents in this case were relatively younger than those in prior cases, which often involved older retirees from the military.
Hsiao also pointed out that while older targets were often motivated by ideology and financial gain, the recent cases appear to be driven primarily by financial motives. He observed that the sentences in this case are more severe than in previous cases, potentially serving as a deterrent.
China claims Taiwan as its territory and has increased military and political pressure in the Taiwan Strait. Espionage between the two sides has been ongoing for decades. Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, stated that this issue concerns the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, which he described as belonging to the same China.
Hsiao mentioned an upward trend in espionage cases involving Taiwanese military personnel over the past decade. Taiwan’s Control Yuan, the government’s oversight branch, confirmed this trend, noting a significant increase in the number of espionage-related cases uncovered by Taiwan’s military security units. From 2011 to 2023, there were 40 espionage cases, involving 113 military and civilian personnel, and numerous top secrets were leaked.
