Taiwan Indicts Former Airline Worker on Charges of Spying for China

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Oct 16, 2025 - 09:52 Updated: Oct 16, 2025 - 09:46
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Taiwan Indicts Former Airline Worker on Charges of Spying for China

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TAIPEI, Taiwan—A former employee of a Taiwan airline has been indicted for allegedly spying for China, the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office announced on Oct. 14.

The defendant, identified only by his surname of Chiao, was the airline’s representative in China from 2012 to 2014, during which he allegedly worked for China’s intelligence service.

During that time, Chiao allegedly attempted to obtain confidential information from government officials at the Taiwanese Mainland Affairs Council, specifically regarding research projects the council had commissioned.

In exchange for the confidential information, Chiao allegedly offered a cash bribe of NT$100,000 (about $3,200), but his offer was rejected, according to prosecutors.

The Mainland Affairs Council explained on its website that it is responsible for the research, planning, review, and coordination of policies and affairs related to China. It is made up of six departments—policy planning; cultural and educational affairs; economic affairs; legal affairs; Hong Kong, Macao, Inner Mongolia, and Tibet Affairs; and Information and Liaison.
The council regularly publishes reports on the situation in China. According to its report published in August, the council pointed out that Taiwan’s direct investment in China for the first five months this year dropped by 63.9 percent year-over-year. During the same five-month period, direct foreign investment in China fell by 14.2 percent year-over-year, according to the report.

Prosecutors said they started investigating the case at the request of the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau.

Chiao is charged with violating the National Security Act and the Anti-Corruption Act, prosecutors said.

In response to the case, the council told Taiwan’s national media, Central News Agency (CNA), that many of its research projects are confidential and that its staff have maintained a very high level of vigilance to prevent outsiders from probing.

The Epoch Times was unable to obtain contact information for Chiao’s lawyer.

Seeing Taiwan as a breakaway province, China’s communist regime has been seeking to undermine the island’s institutions and government agencies with infiltration, cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, and economic pressure.

Earlier this month, Taiwan’s National Security Bureau reported that the island’s government service network had faced more than 2.8 million cyberattacks daily so far this year, according to CNA. The bureau stated that the hackers appeared to be targeting specific areas, including critical infrastructure and sensitive information related to Taiwan’s international cooperation.

The Mainland Affairs Council released a poll in April showing that more than 70 percent of 1,099 Taiwanese adults aged 20 and older believe that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is intensifying its efforts to infiltrate Taiwan.
In a separate poll released in May, the Mailand Affairs Council found that more than 70 percent of 1,074 Taiwanese adults aged 20 and older support the Taiwanese government’s efforts to strengthen national security legal reforms to confront the CCP’s infiltration efforts against Taiwan.
In June, the Mainland Affairs Council released a Hong Kong report marking the 28th anniversary of the former British colony’s handover to CCP rule.

“The original framework of ‘Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy’ under ‘one country, two systems’ model has gradually transformed into a system of ‘Beijing governing Hong Kong with comprehensive control,’” the report reads.

The report highlighted the extensive expansion of social control measures in Hong Kong under the guise of national security, reaching far into areas such as entertainment, the food and beverage industry, and funeral services. Artistic expression on sensitive topics faces censorship or bans, while press freedom continues to erode.

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