DEFENSE/Retired military officers indicted under national security law

Kaohsiung, March 14 (CNA A retired army colonel surnamed Liu (劉), a retired rear-admiral surnamed Sun (孫) and a man surnamed Chu (祝) were indicted Thursday for allegedly developing an organization for China in contravention of the National Security Act.

The Taiwan High Prosecutors Office's Kaohsiung branch said in a statement that Sun and Chu are considered a flight risk and prosecutors received permission from the Taiwan High Court Kaohsiung branch to take them into custody for three months. The trial is ongoing, it added.

The case started after the trio were recruited by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and used their personal connections to find retired high-level military officers to visit China and the United States from 2017 to 2023, with travel expenses covered by the CCP.

The operation provides opportunities for China to win over and recruit people from Taiwan, and promote united front ideas such as "peaceful unification" and "one country, two systems," according to prosecutors.

According to prosecutors' initial estimates, at least a dozen retired military officers were entertained and more than 20 retired high-ranking officers, including generals and lieutenant-generals, have been questioned as part of the case.

After interrogations, prosecutors concluded the trio violated the National Security Act and developed an organization for China.

Prosecutors also said that Sun and Liu had received funding from China to organize events in Taiwan to campaign for specific candidates in Taiwan's presidential and legislative elections in January, giving away freebies such as zongzi, glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves, and peanut butter candy.