23 indicted for China espionage, including 8 active servicemen

Taipei, Sept. 19 (CNA) Prosecutors have indicted 23 people, including eight active servicemen, for spying for China, the Tainan Branch of the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office announced on Wednesday.

Tainan prosecutors launched an investigation into the case in April this year after the Political Warfare Bureau received a tip-off from a soldier in 2022, the branch told CNA.

Forty-nine people were summoned for questioning, following four waves of searches in 29 locations. Cellphones, computers, nine pieces of confidential military information and one classified document were all seized.

The alleged ringleaders, two brothers surnamed Hsu (許), and another accomplice identified as Sun (孫) were held incommunicado, the branch said.

The eight servicemen, who allegedly spied around on military bases nationwide, were from three branches of the Armed Forces and the Coast Guard Administration. The highest-ranked officer served as an Army captain, prosecutors said.

The Hsu brothers were found to have traveled various times to Macao and the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Zhuhai, Guandong Province, where they were recruited in September 2021 by two Chinese businessmen tasked with collecting Taiwan-related military information, prosecutors said.

From January 2022, the Hsu brothers succeeded in luring Sun and 12 other people, offering them compensation ranging from NT$2,000 (US$65)-NT$30,000 for each active serviceman they recruited.

The two also sought to woo active servicemen who were in debt through pawnshops and online loan companies, encouraging them to steal military information or secretly photograph military bases.

The Hsu brothers approached 21 active servicemen, with eight agreeing to obtain information and send intelligence to them and Sun, who would reproduce the information and send it to their Chinese associates.

Prosecutors estimated that the Hsu brothers could have racked up as much as NT$3.97 million in illicit gains over the past two years. Sun, meanwhile, could have gained up to NT$266,400.

Furthermore, the eight indicted active servicemen may have each earned between NT$10,000 and NT$193,736. They were all indicted on charges of contravening the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces and the Anti-Corruption Act.

The Hsu brothers, Sun and the 12 other individuals were indicted on charges of breaking the National Security Act and Anti-Corruption Act. No additional details on how the 12 individuals were involved was provided.