A Taiwanese army pilot was offered US$15 million to defect by landing an US-made transport helicopter on a People’s Liberation Army Navy aircraft carrier during a military drill near the island, according to prosecutors.
But the scheme fell through after the officer was arrested in August for allegedly spying for Beijing, a Taiwan court has heard.
The pilot, identified by his surname Hsieh, was approached in June by mainland Chinese intelligence officials through a retired Taiwanese army officer to fly the CH-47 Chinook helicopter onto the aircraft carrier, the Taiwan High Court Prosecutors Office said in an indictment revealed by lawmakers on Monday.
“According to the instruction from the [mainland] agents, Lieutenant Colonel Hsieh was asked to fly the helicopter at low altitude along the coastline to the Chinese Communist carrier which would be staging drills close to the waters 24 nautical miles [44km] off [Taiwan],” the indictment said.
In exchange, prosecutors said Hsieh would be paid NT$200,000 (US$6,355) per month, and the mainland side would help evacuate his family to Thailand in the event of a cross-strait conflict.
Hsieh initially declined the offer because it was too risky, but later accepted the proposition when mainland agents raised their offer to US$15 million with a US$1 million “deposit”, if he accepted, the indictment said.
Hsieh also proposed that the PLA stage the drill in waters near the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung so that he would not need to cross the median line that separates the island and the mainland in the Taiwan Strait, therefore minimising the chance the helicopter would be intercepted by Taiwan’s air force, according to prosecutors.
The indictment said that Hsieh held a teleconference with mainland operatives in July to discuss the details of the alleged defection, including helping his family immigrate to Thailand.
The prosecutors later arrested Hsieh and the retired officer following a tip-off, which “prevented the US-made aircraft from falling into the hands of the communist force”, the indictment said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping visits helicopter supplier for PLA’s Taiwan sorties
Chinese President Xi Jinping visits helicopter supplier for PLA’s Taiwan sorties
The would-be defection came to light on Monday after lawmakers grilled Taiwan’s defence minister Chiu Kuo-cheng in a meeting over the security lapse within the military and measures the ministry were to adopt in response.
“I feel pained too, to have discovered a case like this and those allegedly involved must be dealt with according to the law,” Chiu told lawmakers.
The defence ministry also issued a separate statement on Monday, saying the military and security agencies in Taiwan had conducted an internal investigation and fully cooperated with the judiciary in its probes.
Hsieh’s case surfaced a week after Taiwanese prosecutors indicted a group of active and retired officers on November 27 for allegedly spying for Beijing.
The case also came as the ministry reported that the PLA’s Shandong battle group sailed south through the Taiwan Strait on Monday on the mainland side of the median line. No further details were provided by the ministry.
Around the time Hsieh was first approached by the mainland agents, the same battle group passed through the same area on June 21.
Taiwan’s military must objectively assess PLA then ‘strengthen ourselves’
Taiwan’s military must objectively assess PLA then ‘strengthen ourselves’
Beijing, which views Taiwan as its territory, to be taken under control by force if necessary, has intensified its military operations around the self-ruled island since August last year after then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei.
Beijing said the visit was a violation of its sovereignty and a breach of the US’s one-China policy.
The United States, like most countries, does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but is opposed to any unilateral change by force in the cross-strait status quo.
