Taiwan has arrested a retired Taiwanese naval officer and two others on suspicion of spying for China, according to The Wall Street Journal:
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said in a statement Monday that Lt. Col. Chang Chih-hsin was suspected of “spying for officials at the Communist Party in China” and “bribing other officers in the navy for illegal gains” during his tenure, which ended in May, at the Naval Meteorological & Oceanographic Office. The office provides mapping data for the military.
Authorities arrested Lt. Col. Chang after “gathering evidence of Chang’s illegal behavior” following a report the ministry received in March, the statement said, but added “there was no leakage of confidential information and [the behavior] didn’t involve any officials currently serving in the navy.” It didn’t elaborate further.
The ministry didn’t make Mr. Chang available to comment, and said he will be tried by a military court, but the date hasn’t been set. The ministry said the two others arrested were also retired military officials but declined to identify them.
The Taiwan Affairs Office of China’s State Council denied any knowledge of the spy case to the Global Times, and its spokesman declined to comment. The Taiwan-based China Post has more on the case:
According to Luo, the case came to light after the 45-year-old Chang was accused of attempting to collect information for the Beijing government from military personnel.
The MND’s anti-espionage system received tips on Chang’s alleged misconduct as early as this March.
The ministry later turned the case over to prosecutors for further investigation on the alleged spying attempt. Initial probes showed no confidential military intelligence was leaked to Beijing via Chang, he said.
Chang, who filed for retirement this May, was reportedly recruited by a Chinese intelligence agency before his discharge from the Naval office that is responsible for mapping the maritime areas surrounded Taiwan.
In 2011, Taiwanese Military High Court sentenced General Lo-Hsein Che to life in prison after he admitted to selling military secrets to China since 2004.
