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Lieutenant accused of
leaking secrets to stay in custody
By Lo Tien-pin and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with Staff writer
Lieutenant Chien Ching-kuo (錢經國), indicted by Greater Kaohsiung Prosecutors’
Office for allegedly violating the Statute for Punishment of Betrayal of
Military Secrets (妨害軍機治罪條例), will remain in custody after approval was granted
in an ongoing investigation, Greater Kaohsiung District Court said on Thursday.
Chien, 40, allegedly came into contact with the Chinese Ministry of State
Security via an introduction by a retired military officer — whose name was
withheld, but who is currently under investigation — and was paid by China to
provide military secrets, later joining the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and
recruiting members for the party within Taiwan.
Chien has denied any wrongdoing in court.
The indictment said that Chien, to facilitate his travels and trading of
secrets, founded a company in Greater Kaohsiung, and treated former colleagues
and current enlisted men, along with their family members, to trips to Southeast
Asia in a bid to lure them into to the party.
Chien had allegedly recruited 10 or more people from military backgrounds to
join the CCP, with some allegedly leaking military secrets to China, the
indictment said.
It added that Chien had allegedly brought classified data on the navy’s plans to
send ships to protect fishermen off the coast of Somalia to Hong Kong to give to
the Chinese.
The navy had considered sending ships to the Gulf of Aden to protect Taiwanese
fishing boats after numerous incidents of Taiwanese boats being harassed or
captured by pirates off the coast of Somalia. However, the plan fell through due
to both internal and international political concerns, as well as logistical
difficulties.
Chien’s alleged operation was bought to light in September, when the person in
charge of the investigation suspected Chien might be traveling to China to hand
over military secrets and asked for a warrant to search his residence.
The Greater Kaohsiung Prosecutors’ Office and the military searched Chien’s
residence before arresting him, with evidence found there allegedly implicating
two other people: the navy’s former Meteorological and Oceanographic Office’s
Political Warfare division chief, Commander Chang Chih-hsin (張祉鑫) and former
Navy Fleet Command Headquarters Staff Lieutenant Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), who shares
the same name as the former president.
The Ministry of National Defense charged all three with spying and accepting
bribes.
It is still looking into whether Chien leaked confidential secrets on Taiwan’s
submarine force.
The Greater Kaohisung District Court approved a request to detain Chien and
suspend his visiting rights on the grounds that he had attempted to fabricate
his testimony and flee the country.
Additional reporting by Pao Chien-hsin
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