Spy says he confessed under intimidation

By Jonathan Chin / Staff writer, with CNA





Alleged Chinese spy Zhou Hongxu (周泓旭) yesterday called for judicial reform as his second trial began at the Taiwan High Court’s Taipei branch, saying that investigators and prosecutors used scare tactics to obtain his confession.

Zhou was on Sept. 15 found guilty by the Taipei District Court of attempting to set up an organization in service of China or a foreign government under the National Security Act (國家安全法) and was sentenced to 14 months in prison.

Both the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office and Zhou’s defense lawyer are appealing the ruling.

Former Chinese student Zhou Hongxu, left, who is charged with espionage, is escorted by a police officer at the Taiwan High Court yesterday on the first day of his second trial. Photo: CNA

Before appearing at yesterday’s court session, Zhou told reporters that the need for judicial reform in Taiwan is urgent.

When asked to elaborate, he said: “They did not dare to prosecute me in an open trial.”

After the court session, Zhou said that prosecutors and investigators had obtained his confession using intimidation and deceit.

“The prosecutor viciously intimidated me,” he said.

Asked whether China is a lawful nation, Zhou said: “I know nothing about the rule of law in the mainland [referring to China], but I now think Taiwan’s rule of law needs reform.”

Zhou’s lawyer, Wang Ke-fu (王可富), issued a written statement saying that investigators used deception and scare tactics to obtain Zhou’s confession.

Investigators told Zhou that Chinese espionage carried a sentence of more than 10 years and that if he confessed, he would be allowed to return to China after serving two or three months in prison, Wang said.

While Zhou has been detained for eight months, former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker Alex Tsai (蔡正元) was released on bail after four months while under a criminal investigation, Wang said, referring to Tsai’s detention in July in connection with a probe into embezzlement allegations relating to the finances of Central Motion Picture Corp.

The difference between the authorities’ treatment of Zhou and Tsai showed that the nation’s justice system is unfair and not in compliance with the Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, he said.

Zhou was a student in Taiwan for seven years and had an excellent character and academic record, Wang said.

The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Zhou last year attempted to recruit a man who had access to the nation’s foreign service documents, on behalf of a Chinese official surnamed Li (李).

Zhou invited the man — who is not identified by name in the court documents — to meet Chinese officials in Japan and Singapore, but the man refused, the prosecutors said.