In response to temples and gangs recruiting military personnel to leak military secrets, as well as frequent espionage cases, Taiwan lawmakers urge comprehensive enhancement of internal security measures and strengthening of national security laws.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Republic of China cracked down on espionage cases involving a temple in New Taipei City with ties to the Heaven’s Way Gang. The female chairperson surnamed Li of the temple was implicated in receiving instructions from the Chinese Communist Party to recruit current and retired Taiwanese military personnel, enticing them to film surrender videos and gather military secrets to hand over to the CCP. On October 24, Taiwan’s High Prosecutors Office charged 10 individuals with offenses including violating national security laws.
Furthermore, ROC Monitoring Commissioners Pu Zhongcheng, Lin Wencheng, and Tsai Chong-yi stated on October 23 that the joint meeting of the Diplomatic and National Defense, Judicial and Prison Administration Committees of the ROC Control Yuan approved investigative reports on October 17 regarding Colonel Sun Weizhong and Major Liu Yunya, a married couple in the Air Force, who were recruited by retired Air Force Colonel Liu Shengshu to gather national defense secrets for a unit linked to the CCP.
Lawmaker Chen Guanting stated that the recent cases revealed CCP’s recruitment of active and retired military personnel through temples and gangs to leak vital military secrets, even demanding soldiers to film surrender videos holding the five-star CCP flag. “This jeopardizes our national security and national interests, and such actions must be strongly condemned.”
Chen Guanting explained that the CCP utilizes opportunities for Taiwan temples to engage in religious exchanges in China, recruiting individuals from temples and gangs to establish organizations in Taiwan and then leveraging their backgrounds to recruit current and retired military personnel in need of funds. This systematic development of espionage networks ranges from junior to senior officers, with similar incidents continually occurring. The Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Justice, and security agencies must remain vigilant to prevent such situations from reoccurring.
Chen Guanting noted that recently there was a case of sensitive data mistakenly transmitted within the Ministry of National Defense’s intranet, with 28 units receiving the data. Should this information be backed up by malicious actors and personal interests be compromised, it could be exploited by spies. He emphasized the need for strict data protection measures, encryption procedures, and overall security awareness within the defense sector.
He stressed that systemic espionage incidents warrant amendments to various national security-related laws, proposing that national security cases be handled by specialized security courts, enhancing the definition of national security in national security laws, and increasing penalties for leaking classified information. The aim is to bolster legal frameworks and enforcement to safeguard national security and prevent the CCP from infiltrating or undermining Taiwan’s national interests through various means.