6 military personnel sentenced to prison in Chinese espionage case

Taipei, April 15 (CNA) The Taiwan High Court on Wednesday handed down prison sentences to six retired and active Taiwanese military personnel for leaking military secrets to China and gave them prison sentences of up to eight years and six months.

Wang Wen-hao (王文豪), Tan Chun-ming (譚俊明), Lu Fang-chi (呂芳契), Chiu Han-lin (邱翰林) and Yang Chien-hui (楊千慧) were found guilty of developing an organization for China, in violation of the National Security Act.

The other defendant, Yang Po-chih (楊博智), was convicted with disclosing information of a secret nature concerning national defense, in violation of the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces.

They were given sentences ranging from four years and six months to eight years and six months.

The ruling can be appealed.

Ding Xiaohu (丁小琥), or Ting Siu Fu in Cantonese, a Chinese man with a Hong Kong passport, was also indicted in the case but died in February 2026, and had his case dismissed.

The Taiwan High Prosecutors Office indicted the seven individuals in November 2025, after the Investigation Bureau's Taipei Investigation Branch in 2024 began investigations into possible espionage activities involving Ding.

They alleged that Ding recruited retired officers Wang, Tan and two others surnamed Chang (張) and Ho (何), who have since died, as members of a network that developed contacts and gathered classified information.

The four recruited active and retired personnel through their connections in the military, including Lu, Chiu, Yang Chien-hui and Yang Po-chih, prosecutors said.

The operation also involved influencing active military personnel to take a passive and non-resistant attitude in potential cross-Taiwan Strait military conflicts, they said.

More than NT$11.12 million (US$351,756) was transferred to Taiwan to support the criminal operations by an associate named Chen Chun-an (陳俊安), according to information provided by prosecutors, the Investigation Bureau and the Ministry of National Defense.

The Taipei District Prosecutors Office also indicted Ding, Wang and Chen in November on charges of money laundering and violations of the Banking Act.

The charges against Ding were dropped following his death, while proceedings against Wang and Chen are ongoing, the Taipei District Court said.