Five people of Chinese President Lai Ching-te’s group are accused of spying for China, including a former aide to the self-ruled region’s national security chief. Although Beijing and Taipei have been spies for decades, researchers say Taiwan is more threatened by the risk of a Chinese war. According to the Democratic Progressive Party, its Central Evaluation Committee had come to a decision overwhelmingly to remove the five members in order to “protect party control and national protection.” The DPP stated in a speech that” Taiwan is facing challenges from the Chinese Communist Party” and that the world is currently in grim shape. According to the semi-official Central News Agency, one of the five accused is a former aide to National Security Council chief Joseph Wu when he was foreign minister, as well as a former employee of Lai when he was vice president and then president.” The actions of those involved in the ( spying ) cases not only violated the laws of our country, but they also clearly violated the discipline and core values of our party,” the semi-official Central News Agency reported. No one from the Taipei District Lawyers Office was instantly available for comment, and the DPP did not specify whether the five had been charged. Taiwan, which China claims is a part of its own country, has threatened to use pressure to conquer it. China is also accused of using spy, cyberattacks, and disinformation to undermine its defenses by Taiwan. According to official statistics, China has a significant increase in the number of people facing spying charges against Beijing, with resigned and enlisted military personnel serving as the main targets of its infiltration efforts. In comparison to the 48 people who were detained for Chinese spying in 2023 and 10 in 2022, Taiwan’s National Security Bureau reported that in the previous month, 64 people had been charged with the same thing. They included 15 soldiers and 28 active service associates with jail sentences as high as 20 times in 2024.
