Couple Indicted for Allegedly Accepting Millions From China to Conduct Influence Operations in Taiwan

‘Hostile foreign forces have for a long time taken advantage of our country’s freedom of speech,’ said Taiwanese prosecutors.

A CH-47 Chinook helicopter carries a Taiwanese flag during national day celebrations in Taipei, Taiwan, on Oct. 10, 2021. Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images

TAIPEI, Taiwan—A Taiwanese radio host and his wife have been indicted for allegedly taking millions from communist China to influence public opinion in Taiwan, according to local prosecutors. Taiwanese authorities have also announced that they seek to dissolve a pro-Beijing party of which the radio host is a member.

The two defendants—identified only by their last names, Chang and Hung—were accused of taking NT$74 million (about $2.3 million) from China’s government agencies, including the Taiwan Affairs Office, between 2011 and 2023, Chiayi District Prosecutors Office said in a statement on Nov. 4.