26-month sentence given to former Air Force major who spied for China upheld

Taipei, Aug. 21 (CNA) The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a 26-month prison term for a former Air Force major convicted of spying for Chinese intelligence, while remanding another 10-month sentence to a lower court.

Former Air Force Major Shih Chun-cheng (史濬程) was convicted of two counts of National Security Act breaches for approaching then-Air Force Air Intercept Controller Hsu Chan-cheng (許展誠) and persuading Hsu to leak classified files in exchange for payment.

The Taiwan High Court's Taichung Branch Court in March gave Shih two sentences of 26 months and 10 months for his offenses and ruled that Shih was to serve 30 months, with his illicit gains confiscated.

After Shih and prosecutors appealed the ruling, the Supreme Court upheld the 26-month jail term and remanded the 10-month sentence to the lower court for a retrial.

The Supreme Court also placed travel restrictions on Shih, who was granted bail of NT$100,000.

According to the indictment, Shih, who was discharged in 2008, was recruited by Chinese intelligence officers to operate an espionage ring in Taiwan to gather military secrets.

Shih met Hsu in 2021 and persuaded Hsu to provide intelligence to him in exchange for payments, on a false claim that he had ties with the United States Armed Forces.

From 2021 to August 2024, Hsu leaked information, including the Air Force's applications of air-launched Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missiles and deployments in response to Chinese military incursions into Taiwan's air defense identification zone. Shih then delivered the intelligence to his contacts in China.

Shih received NT$2.1 million (US$68,923) from his Chinese contacts, NT$200,000 of which he shared with Hsu.

Shortly after local media reported on the incident in March, Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said the leaked data concerning the Hsiung Feng III missiles predated the development of the missiles and was "not combat-related."