By Eniola Amadu
A court in Taiwan has sentenced four former aides and party staffers to prison for leaking state secrets to China in one of the island’s most high-profile espionage cases in recent years.
The men, all previously employed by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), were convicted of passing diplomatic intelligence to Beijing over an extended period.
Sentences handed down on Thursday ranged from four to ten years.
Huang Chu-jung, a former assistant to a Taipei city councillor, received the longest jail term of 10 years.
Prosecutors said Huang instructed a foreign ministry employee, Ho Jen-chieh, to obtain sensitive information from then Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, who now serves as national security chief.
Huang reportedly compiled reports based on the leaked material and sent them to Chinese intelligence agencies using encrypted software.
Ho was sentenced to eight years and two months in prison. Another ex-DPP staffer, Chiu Shih-yuan, also worked with Huang to secure information.
The court heard that Chiu received details from Wu Shangyu, an aide to President Lai Ching-te, about the president’s travel schedules during his time as vice president and shortly after taking office in 2024.
The court found that Huang had received nearly NT$5 million ($163,000) from Beijing, while Chiu was paid more than NT$2 million.
“The information they spied on, collected, leaked and delivered involved important diplomatic intelligence, which made our country’s difficult diplomatic situation even worse,” the ruling said.
All four men were expelled from the DPP in May, a month before they were indicted. Prosecutors had sought sentences of up to 18 years.
Taiwanese authorities have warned of an increase in Chinese espionage.
In 2024, the National Security Bureau said 64 people were prosecuted for spying for Beijing, compared with 44 cases recorded between 2013 and 2019.
Recent convictions have included senior military officials, among them a former Air Force colonel jailed for 20 years last year for running a spy network.
President Lai has frequently described China as a “foreign hostile force” and accused it of destabilising the region.
Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its territory, has denounced Lai as a “destroyer of cross-straits peace.”
The DPP maintains that China uses espionage and influence campaigns to undermine Taiwan’s democracy.
The opposition Kuomintang, seen as friendlier to Beijing, has accused the government of exploiting espionage cases to target political rivals.
