Four Taiwanese soldiers, including three assigned to the security detail of the president’s office, have been sentenced to prison for photographing and leaking classified information to China, a court announced.
The number of individuals prosecuted for espionage on behalf of Beijing has surged in recent years, with Taiwan’s military—both active and retired personnel—being the primary targets of Chinese infiltration, according to official data.
This development follows President Lai Ching-te’s recent announcement of plans to reinstate military judges to oversee cases of Chinese espionage and other offences involving Taiwanese service members. According to the Taipei District Court, three members of the Presidential Office’s security unit and a soldier from the defense ministry’s information and telecommunications command were found guilty of violating national security laws.
“Their actions constituted a betrayal of the country and posed a threat to national security,” the court stated.
The four received prison sentences ranging from five years and ten months to seven years for transmitting “internal military information that should have remained confidential” to Chinese intelligence agents over a period of several months. The offenses occurred between 2022 and 2024, with the soldiers receiving payments ranging from approximately NT$260,000 to NT$660,000. The court did not disclose specific details about the leaked information.
Despite holding positions in “highly sensitive and crucial units,” the defendants “violated their duties by accepting bribes and stealing secrets through unauthorized photography,” the court added.Prosecutors revealed that the soldiers used their mobile phones to capture classified military data.
Three of them had already been discharged from the military before an investigation was launched in August last year, following a tip-off to the defense ministry. The fourth soldier was suspended. Taiwan’s intelligence agency previously reported a sharp increase in espionage cases, with 64 individuals prosecuted for Chinese spying in 2024, compared to 48 in 2023 and just 10 in 2022.
Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory and has repeatedly threatened to use force to assert control over the self-governing island. Espionage between the two sides has persisted for decades, but analysts warn that Taiwan faces a greater threat, given the looming possibility of a Chinese invasion.
