Taiwan President Lai Ching-te's itinerary and Vice President Bi-khim Hsiao’s phone number. These are among the information that alleged Taiwanese spies working in the heart of government reportedly gave China.
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00:00More details have emerged about a case of alleged Chinese espionage at the heart of Taiwan's ruling party.
00:06In May, the Democratic Progressive Party expelled five members accused of spying for China.
00:12The information they shared reportedly included President Lai Ching-da's international itinerary and Vice President Beekum Shao's phone number.
00:19For more on this, we are joined by Louise Watt from our newsroom in Taipei.
00:23Louise, what do we know about the material that was allegedly handed over?
00:30Well, Eric, let's just remind ourselves first of the case, because these five members in question weren't just rank-and-file members of the DPP.
00:40They had access to top officials.
00:43One of them worked in President Lai's office, and he'd worked for President Lai when he was still Vice President years ago.
00:51And another was an aide to then Foreign Minister Joseph Wu.
00:56Now, all five are still being investigated.
00:59No charges have been brought.
01:02But today, a report in Mirror Weekly, that's a Taiwanese media outlet that's known for its close links to the DPP and prosecutors.
01:12They published a report in which they gave information on what prosecutors believe these five passed on to China.
01:23So that information included Lai's trip to Paraguay in 2023.
01:31Paraguay is one of Taiwan's diplomatic allies.
01:34The information allegedly included his itinerary and also his hotel details right down to the floor he was staying on.
01:42It also includes Bi Kim's Xiao, the vice president's phone number, and records of then Foreign Minister Wu's meetings with foreign guests and envoys.
01:56How much damage could have been caused by sharing this kind of information?
02:00Well, there's obviously security risks with revealing itineraries of top leaders.
02:09But what has to be said is that it was via a specially encrypted Chinese app.
02:21So it's not yet certain how much more information could possibly have been handed over.
02:27This app was allegedly developed by Chinese intelligence agencies, and it would appear Taiwan hasn't been able to break into it to ascertain the extent of the information.
02:42And again, I stress nothing has been proven.
02:44But if it is proven that China has managed to infiltrate into the heart of President Lai's government.
02:53And let's not forget he campaigned warning the public about the threats Taiwan is facing from China.
03:00Then that will worry a lot of people, not just here in Taiwan, but also in Washington.
03:07And how has the ruling party been responding to all of this?
03:14Well, the DPP has said they're unable to comment on individual cases that are still under investigation.
03:21But more broadly, they say that anyone who's found to have betrayed their country, whatever their party background, should face punishment.
03:31Now, they say also that what spy cases have in common is that people are recruited when they go to China, perhaps, for business.
03:41So they say they are going to be vetting all new party members.
03:47What they haven't said today is whether they will improve current vetting procedures of people who have access already to confidential information.
03:57And that may not inspire confidence among the public.
04:03Thanks for that update, Louise.
04:04That was Louise Watt in our Taipei Newsroom.