Court upholds 7.5-year sentence for ex-colonel in China allegiance case

Taipei, Dec. 8 (CNA) Taiwan's Supreme Court upheld a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence Thursday for a retired Army colonel found guilty of corruption and taking money in return for declaring his allegiance to China.

In the verdict, which is final, the court rejected defendant Hsiang Te-en's (向德恩) appeal, saying "investigations for the previous trial were complete and the sentencing was appropriate."

Hsiang had intended to file for retirement from the military in 2018, but was approached by Shao Wei-chiang (邵維強), a former reporter and owner of Kinmen-based Safety Travel Service Co., who persuaded him to stay on and serve as a Chinese spy in return for a fixed monthly payment of NT$40,000 (US$1,275).

To prove his loyalty to China, Shao also asked Hsiang to hold up a handwritten note pledging his allegiance to Beijing while wearing his military uniform for a photograph in January 2020.

The note stated: "I, Hsiang Te-en, hereby pledge to support cross-strait peaceful unification. I will do my best at my current post to fulfill the glorious task of pushing for peaceful unification for the motherland."

Hsiang was found guilty of having accepted a total of NT$560,000 in bribes from Shao between October 2019 and January 2022, according to a Kaohsiung District Court indictment.

During the first trial in February this year, the former colonel argued that the oath was his personal opinion on cross-strait matters, and as freedom of speech did not violate his duties.

Hsiang's claims were rejected by a panel of judges, who responded that his actions broke his pledge of allegiance to defend the Republic of China (Taiwan) and combined with the self interested acceptance of bribes seriously damaged national security while also undermining morale within the military.

Hsiang was handed a 7.5-year jail sentence for corruption, and also stripped of his political and civil rights for four years. He appealed the case, but the High Court's Kaohsiung Branch upheld the ruling in September.

Hsiang subsequently filed another appeal, but the Supreme Court on Thursday said the initial verdict was appropriate and that verdict was final.

The former Army colonel was indicted for corruption in November 2022. At the time, Kaohsiung prosecutors said they were still investigating what information Hsiang passed on and whether any of it was confidential. If he was found to have done so, they said he could face additional espionage charges under the National Security Act.