Taiwan charges two former state officials with violating national security law by spying for China

The two men face up to five years of jail term on conviction

Representational image: A navy personnel salutes an officer on a warship inside a Taiwan navy camp during a recruiting event at Xinbin Port on 11 March 2023 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan (Getty Images)

A retired admiral and a former lawmaker in Taiwan have been slapped with espionage charges for allegedly developing a spy network for China.

Hsia Fu-hsiang, who served as deputy head of the navy’s political warfare department, and Lo Chih-ming, a former Taiwan Solidarity Union lawmaker, were taken into custody earlier in January this year for allegedly violating the island nation’s national security law.

Indicting the two on Thursday, Kaohsiung prosecutors said they began their efforts after being hired by Chinese military and the Communist Party’s United Front Work Department, reported Taipei Times.