Ex-intelligence official describes China’s methods

By Aaron Tu and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer





A book by former Military Intelligence Bureau deputy chief Lieutenant General Wong Yen-ching (翁衍慶) describes how China infiltrated the nation’s military and society.

State-run China Central Television (CCTV) on Sept. 15 accused Taiwanese intelligence of using “honey traps” to build ties with Chinese students studying in Taiwan and obtain information on Chinese state secrets.

The Ministry of National Defense has called the allegations “baseless,” and lawmakers and academics have accused China of being the one attempting to infiltrate another nation’s society.

However, the Chinese accusations have sparked public discussion of Taiwan’s and China’s spying activities against each other.

In The Communist Party of China — Intelligence Organization and Spy, Wong writes that Chinese Ministry of State Security agents favor honey-trap methods, citing as example the case of former Republic of China Army general Lo Hsien-che (羅賢哲) and the Chinese ministry’s Taiwan Special Division director Li Peiqi (李佩琪).

Lo, who was the military attache to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office to Thailand from 2002 to 2005, was recruited by Li and other Chinese agents in 2004.

On Jan. 1, 2008, he was promoted to the rank of general, but came under suspicion of involvement in espionage in October 2010.

Lo was sentenced to life in prison in 2011 on espionage charges.

In his book, Wong offers detailed descriptions of the Chinese intelligence units tasked with spying on and infiltration of Taiwan.

The People’s Liberation Army’s “Sixth Bureau” cyberspace unit in Wuhan in Hubei Province is specifically tasked with gathering and researching all technical information and intelligence gathered on Taiwan, Wong wrote.

The unit attempts to tap into Taiwan’s telecommunications networks, preconfiguring a group of keywords that if spoken would instantly alert surveillance crews, Wong wrote.

The unit also gathers information from satellite images, aerial photographs, intercepted or tapped telephone calls and Internet data analysis, he wrote.

Select “Sixth Bureau” divisions are embedded at Wuhan University as research centers and labs, Wong said, adding that three large listening stations are positioned in China’s Fujian Province.

The bureau is part of the Chinese Central Military Commission Political Work Department’s Communications Bureau and is the primary unit gathering intelligence for political warfare against Taiwan and other military powers, Wong said.

The Shanghai office of the bureau is focused primarily on the Taiwanese military, Wong wrote.

He said that the unit keeps digital files on all Taiwanese military personnel ranked colonel or higher that include place of residence, educational background and some personal information.