Four Taiwanese soldiers arrested for alleged espionage for China

MADRID Dec. 6 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Taiwan authorities have detained four retired military personnel for allegedly conspiring to provide classified information to China during their time within the Armed Forces, the island’s Prosecutor’s Office reported this Friday.

Those now accused left the Armed Forces between July 2023 and August 2024, but what is in doubt is the activity they were able to carry out before retiring. Three of them were part of the unit responsible for guaranteeing the security of the Taiwanese Presidency, according to the CNA agency.

The activities investigated date back to April 2022, when two of the detainees, identified only as Lai and Chen, began passing classified information in exchange for money. Chen was in charge of photographing the documents and Lai was in charge of passing these images.

Later, Lai himself began taking the photos, but the transfer to another unit forced him to recruit two colleagues in succession. Taiwan authorities estimate that the suspects pocketed hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese dollars – one of the last captured allegedly won more than 664,000 (about 19,400 euros) -.