Taiwan Military Officers Sentenced for China Spy Network

Two of Taiwan’s retired military officers were sentenced to 10 months in jail on Feb. 21, after being found guilty of helping mainland China build a spy network in Taiwan.

The two were convicted of violating Taiwan’s National Security Act. Lu Chun-chun, 36, had served at Taiwan’s Missile Command Center, and retired in 2005. Chien Ching-kuo was a navy lieutenant, and retired in 2009.

The two followed common recruitment tactics used by Chinese spies. Their story, recorded in Kaohsiung District Court documents, was reported by Taiwan’s Want China Times newspaper.

Lu was pursuing a business career in mainland China after he retired from his military post. He was soon found and befriended by government officials in the city of Xiamen, and he was then recruited by a Chinese intelligence agency.

Lu then brought Chien into the mix. He invited Chien on a paid trip to Bali where he met with Chinese intelligence agents, who paid him close to $382 for information on Taiwan’s military.

Chien had provided the Chinese spies with classified information on Taiwan’s naval plans to defend fishing ships from Somali pirates in 2011.

Lu and Chien then tried recruiting others into the spy network. They convinced Chang Chih-hsin, a former Taiwanese chief officer of political warfare at the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Office, to go on a trip to Cebu in the Philippines.

They had also tried recruiting three other Taiwanese military officers, using the same trick of all-expense paid trips.