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.

The two former officials are charged of violating the National Security Act for inviting and accompanying 48 generals and major generals on 13 trips to China between 2012 and 2019, said deputy head prosecutor Hsu Hung-ju.

The two helped in building the alleged spy network and lured retired officials through financial means to pass sensitive information, claimed the prosecutors.

Mr Lo and Mr Hsia are accused of leading trips to Beijing, allegedly financed by the country, where Taiwanese military personnel were treated like VIPs. The trips include the gathering of alumni of the Whampoa Military Academy, the Zhuhai International Airshow and golf competitions, reported Taipei Times.

If convicted, the two former state officials can face up to five years of jail term, reported the BBC.

According to the broadcaster, the prosecutors do not have evidence to show that retired officials on the trip collected sensitive information for China, so they have been listed as witnesses in the case.

Mr Hsia was allegedly recruited by Mr Lo, AFP had earlier reported.

Their cases had emerged as prosecutors were investigating a retired air force colonel suspected of hiring six on-duty officers in the air force and navy for China, reported the French wire agency.