8 Taiwanese soldiers sentenced to up to 13 years in prison for spying for China

Eight Taiwanese military personnel were sentenced to up to 13 years in prison on Thursday for spying for Beijing. The court justified this by saying that they did it for the money.

China claims self-governing Taiwan as its territory and has increased military and political pressure on the democratic island in recent years.

The two sides separated in 1949 after a civil war and have been spying on each other ever since.

The defendants in Thursday's verdict were active soldiers “who were willing to collect information for China that led to the leaking of important secrets,” Taiwan's Supreme Court said in a statement. “They were lured with money.”

Among them was a man surnamed Hsiao who played a key role in recruiting soldiers to join “a pro-China network” to collect and share intelligence, the court said.

He received the longest prison sentence: 13 years.

Another was sentenced to five and a half years in prison for making a “psychological warfare video to demonstrate his willingness to surrender to the People’s Liberation Army,” and a man received a nine-year sentence for “conspiring to escape” to China by flying a military helicopter.

“Their actions violated their official duties to be loyal to the country and to defend the country and the people … and seriously endangered the national security and well-being of the Taiwanese people,” the court said.

All eight men can appeal the verdict.

The public prosecutor's office initially charged ten people in the case in November. One was acquitted due to lack of evidence.

The other – a retired soldier surnamed Chen – was identified as the person who recruited Hsiao.

However, the court said it would treat Chen's case separately after he fled to China. He is currently wanted in Taiwan.

Thursday's verdict was the latest in a series of recent espionage cases.

Last month, a sergeant working at a naval training center was charged with photographing and passing on classified defense information to Beijing.

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