Taiwanese Diabolo Instructor Sentenced to More Than 12 Years for Spying for China

The defendant leaked information about the former Taiwanese president’s 2023 visits to Belize and Guatemala, according to prosecutors.

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

TAIPEI, Taiwan—A diabolo instructor has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for spying for China and leaking overseas travel itineraries of a former Taiwanese president.

The Taipei District Court on June 17 sentenced Lu Chi-hsien to six years in prison on one count of violating Taiwan’s National Security Act and six years and eight months on a second count, and it stripped him of his civil rights for four years.

Prosecutors said Lu was recruited by Chinese intelligence agents during his trip to China in 2020 and that since then, he has received more than NT$5.7 million (about $180,000) for his spy activities in Taiwan, according to Taiwan’s national media outlet, Central News Agency.

Three other people sentenced by the court on June 17—Ke Tsang-hao, Chen Min-chi, and Lin Chu-han—were recruited by Lu.

Ke, a flight dispatcher at Taiwan’s flag carrier China Airlines, provided Lu with information about former Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s 2023 overseas travel itinerary, according to the outlet. Ke accessed the airline’s internal network and provided Lu with details such as Tsai’s departure and arrival times, in exchange for a payment of NT$45,000 (about $1,400), according to prosecutors.

During a 10-day trip in 2023, Tsai visited two of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, Guatemala and Belize, with stopovers in New York City and Los Angeles. Her Los Angeles stopover drew protesters linked to Chinese consulates, and she was also targeted in a Chinese surveillance operation. In February, a Chinese man involved in the surveillance operation targeting Tsai was sentenced to four years in prison in California after being convicted of acting as an unregistered agent of China.

The court sentenced Ke to five years and four months in prison for violating the National Security Act.

Beginning in November 2022, Lu obtained classified military materials from Chen, who was then a sergeant in Taiwan’s Air Force, according to the outlet. Prosecutors said Chen accessed an internal military network and provided sensitive information, including a training program from the Air Force Songshan Air Base Command.

Chen was sentenced to six years and two months in prison for violating Taiwan’s Anti-Corruption Act.

Lin, who introduced Chen to Lu, was sentenced to five years and six months in prison for violating the National Security Act.

The four defendants were charged by the Taipei Prosecutors’ Office in December 2025, according to the outlet.

Lu and Lin were among 10 people sentenced in a separate case in June 2025.

According to a press release from the Taipei District Court, Lu was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison, while Lin received a sentence of six years and two months for developing a China-funded espionage organization in violation of the National Security Act.

“Political tensions and military confrontation have persisted across the Taiwan Strait between Taiwan and mainland China for a long time,” the court said in a statement at the time. “The mainland has carried out intelligence infiltration and united front operations targeting Taiwan, posing a serious threat to the nation’s overall security.”

The defendants’ actions “effectively facilitated the mainland’s intelligence-gathering and infiltration efforts against Taiwan,” the court said.

The Chinese regime, which claims the democratically governed Taiwan as a Chinese province, has been engaging in united front operations aimed at infiltrating Taiwan’s society and eroding its democratic institutions, while seeking to influence public opinion, sway voters, and bolster pro-Beijing politicians and policies that align with its agenda.

According to a court document, Lu traveled to the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou in January 2020, where he met with two people identified as Wang Hao and Sun Jian to discuss potential commercial opportunities related to diabolo activities.

Wang and Sun invited Lu back to China three months later. In Shanghai, the two identified themselves as Chinese intelligence agents, and Lu agreed to act as a spy for China, accepting 5,000 yuan (about $700) from them, according to the document.