Taiwan detains TV journalist, alleges bribes to leak military info to China

Taiwan’s prosecutors say a television reporter was detained after a district court ordered his detention on allegations that he bribed active and retired military officers to provide military information to people on mainland China, as Taiwan increases efforts against potential infiltration.

In a statement, Taiwan’s Qiaotou District Prosecutors Office said the district court ordered the detention of a television reporter and five current and retired military officers. The Saturday statement did not identify the journalist by full name, using only the surname Lin.

CTi TV separately said one of its reporters, Lin Chen-you, has been detained and that it was not aware of the case details. The outlet urged a fair judicial process, CTi said.

Prosecutors accused Lin of paying bribes in amounts ranging from several thousand to tens of thousands of Taiwan dollars in exchange for information provided by current military officers to “Chinese individuals.” The prosecutors did not specify who those “Chinese individuals” were or whether they were linked to the Chinese government.

The case, prosecutors said, was connected to alleged violations of Taiwan’s national security and corruption laws, as well as the disclosure of confidential information. Authorities raided the premises of the reporter and nine current and retired military personnel on Friday, according to the report. CTi said its offices were not raided.

The AP report said Lin’s Facebook page describes him as a political reporter and anchor covering the island’s legislature. It also noted that, while Taiwan regularly pursues espionage cases within the government and military, allegations against journalists are unusual.

Taiwan and China have been governed separately since 1949, when the Communist Party rose to power in Beijing following a civil war and defeated Nationalist Party forces fled to Taiwan. Taiwan later transitioned from martial law to multiparty democracy.

In recent months, Beijing has increased military pressure against Taiwan, the AP reported, amid threats of force if necessary. The report said China’s military launched large-scale drills around Taiwan for two days last month after a Washington announcement of large-scale arms sales to Taiwan.

— Leung reported from Hong Kong.