Kina har skaffet seg spioner i Taiwans militære, selv på høyt nivå. Også sikkerheten rundt president Tsai-Ing er kompromittert. Det betyr at Kina kan sette henne og regjeringen ut av spill ved en invasjon. Reuters har fått innsyn i dokumenter som viser at 21 høytstående offiserer er dømt og ni står for retten. Det demoraliserer Taiwan å vite at deres offiserer lar seg kjøpe.

Kina har sendt forretningsmenn til Taiwan som over tid har skaffet seg kontakter som de gradvis har kultivert med gaver og bestikkelser. Men de konkrete opplysningene om hvor dypt Kina har penetrert forsvaret har vært ukjent til nå.

The operation detailed in these documents shows how Beijing allegedly sought out commanders in the Taiwan military and induced them to become spies. It comes amid a series of convictions for military espionage in Taiwan in recent years. Those cases reveal that China has mounted a broader campaign to undermine the democratic island’s military and civilian leadership, corrode its will to fight, extract details of high-tech weapons and gain insights into defense planning, according to senior retired Taiwanese military officers and current counter-espionage agents, as well as former U.S. military and intelligence officers with experience in Taiwan.

Taiwan’s spycatchers are battling a campaign that has compromised senior officers at the heart of the island’s armed forces and government agencies, a steady stream of convictions handed down in the courts shows.

Taiwan er verdens fremste produsent av halvledere, som det allerede er manko på på verdensmarkedet. Hvis Kina skulle få kontroll over Taiwans chip-fabrikker vil det være et slag mot verdensøkonomien.

Man trenger ikke lure på hva kineserne vil med detaljert kunnskap om president Tsai-Ings sikkerhetsopplegg.

The information included a hand-drawn organizational chart of the Special Service Center, the unit that protects the president, according to the ruling in the High Court. The two were also charged with leaking the names, titles and work phone numbers of senior security officers guarding the Presidential Office and Tsai’s residence in the heart of Taipei, according to court documents reviewed by Reuters and local media reports.

Kina vil gjerne erobre Taiwan så billig som mulig. Hvis landet saboteres innenfra kan det være de militære kapitulerer fordi kamp er nytteløst mot en overveldende fiende. Det er heller ikke sikkert USAs flåte rekker å komme ut av startblokkene.

Offiserene som ble rekruttert har selv vervet nye spioner.

In the past decade, at least 21 serving or retired Taiwanese officers with the rank of captain or above have been convicted of spying for China, according to a Reuters review of court records and reports from Taiwan’s official news agencies. At least nine other serving or retired members of the armed forces are currently on trial or being investigated on suspicion of contacts with spies from China, the review shows.

The 21 convicted officers were found guilty of recruiting spies for China or passing a range of sensitive information to China, including contact details of senior Taiwanese officers and details of Taiwan’s agents in China.

Kina har alt å vinne på å skape en stemning av at Kina vil overta uansett, så hvorfor ikke gjøre det minst mulig blodig.

“China is conducting a very targeted infiltration effort towards Taiwan,” said retired Taiwanese navy Lieutenant Commander Lu Li-shih. Espionage cases, he said, show that Beijing has compromised almost all ranks, including top-level generals, despite intensive internal education campaigns in the military warning of the dangers of Beijing’s espionage efforts.

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/taiwan-china-espionage/