Indictment alleges China party official interested in Taiwan legislative appointment

Taipei, March 27 (CNA) The indictment of China-born spouse Xu Chunying (徐春鶯) revealed that an official from the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang in 2024 had inquired about the legislative prospects of Li Chen-hsiu (李貞秀) after Xu declined an at-large nomination by the Taiwan People's Party (TPP).

Xu, who chairs a Taiwanese new immigrants organization, was indicted by prosecutors Tuesday for violations of the Anti-Infiltration Act -- a 2020 law banning political activities funded or directed by hostile foreign forces like China -- and financial crimes.

The indictment detailed Xu's communications between June 2019 and October 2025 with Yang Wentao (楊文濤), director of the Service Center for Cross-Strait Marriages and Families under China's Ministry of Civil Affairs, and Sun Xian (孫憲), deputy head of the Shanghai branch of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang.

According to the indictment, one of Xu's illegal activities involved forwarding Sun the personal profile of Li, another Chinese spouse and naturalized Taiwanese citizen, on March 18, 2024.

At the time, Li ranked 15th on the TPP's at-large list and was expected to take office in two years under the party's rotation rule -- a seat she assumed in February.

On Nov. 3, 2024, Sun, in his message to Xu, said "There shouldn't be any issue with Li Chen-hsiu taking the baton now, right? We were just talking about her yesterday. Since I was not familiar (with the situation), I didn't say much."

It was unclear in the indictment what Sun meant by "taking the baton."

Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) interpreted "taking the baton" to mean that Sun saw Li as filling the seat Xu would have taken, had Xu not turned down a spot on the Taiwan People's Party's (TPP) at-large list following controversies over her alleged links to China.

In another message from Sun to Xu on Aug. 21, 2025, Sun emphasized that Li must take office, despite any challenge to her eligibility, according to the indictment.

Sun said that even if Li is ultimately unable to assume the seat, the goal should be to force the MAC to declare her ineligible due to her nationality, adding that Mai Yu-chen (麥玉珍) -- a naturalized citizen from Vietnam who resigned her TPP at-large seat in January under the party's rotation rule -- should then return to the position.

Together with Chung Chin-ming (鍾錦明), the head of a Taiwanese organization that promotes cross-strait marriages, Xu began frequently traveling to China under the pretext of providing services for Chinese spouses, prosecutors said.

On those trips, Xu met Yang and Sun, whom she began regularly reporting to on Taiwanese politics and elections, prosecutors added.

According to the indictment, Xu was frustrated with the Kuomintang (KMT) for not picking Chinese spouses for safe spots on their at-large legislator list, or shortening the time requirement for Chinese spouses to obtain citizenship.

In 2022, Xu noted in a report to Yang that Huang Shan-shan (黃珊珊) was running for Taipei mayor as an independent, and, with Yang's support, began organizing other Chinese spouses to campaign for Huang, who ultimately lost the election.

In the run-up to the 2024 national elections, Sun asked Xu to stay in contact with Huang -- by then a member of the TPP, describing Huang as a "growth stock" with "opportunities down the road."

Meanwhile, when Xu learned that TPP presidential nominee Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was interested in launching a group for China-born spouses that supported his candidacy, Xu reported it to Yang, and began rallying support for Ko, prosecutors said.

Separately, prosecutors alleged that Xu facilitated Sun's 10-day visit to Taiwan in October 2025 by using a shell company to invite him for "business exchanges."

In filing applications for Sun's entry permit, Xu concealed his political affiliation, claimed he had no government or party connections and submitted a falsified daily itinerary, actions for which prosecutors have charged her with document forgery.

Xu has been detained since Nov. 28, 2025, on suspicion of violating the Anti-Infiltration Act. On Thursday, the New Taipei District Court granted a prosecution request to extend her detention for another three months and to continue holding her incommunicado.

Through her legal counsel, Xu has rejected the charges under the Anti-Infiltration Act, saying she reportedly told her contacts that she refused to engage in or discuss politics in the chat logs seized by prosecutors, Liberty Times reported on Wednesday.

According to her defense, Xu said that her involvement with the TPP and her support for its candidates were aimed at serving the interests of fellow Chinese spouses and not politically motivated, according to the Chinese-language newspaper.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the TPP said that until a final court verdict is reached, the legal rights of every citizen must be protected.

"No individual should be subjected to 'trial by media' or face 'social death' before their case is even adjudicated," the statement read.

The TPP slammed the indictment, noting that while prosecutors identified Xu's campaign activities in 2022 and 2024 as illegal acts conducted "under the direction of infiltration sources," no concrete proof has been made public to support these assertions.

Ko was asked for a comment on the indictment against Xu at a press conference Thursday evening, held to respond to the Taipei District Court's ruling that sentenced him to 17 years in prison on corruption charges and other offenses earlier that day.

Ko responded by asking: "Are there more CCP (Chinese Communist Party) spies among China-born spouses, or among DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) staffers?" to which some of his supporters said "The DPP staffers!"

"The DPP are the real ... communists bandit!" Ko said.