TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Taiwan has detained a major general on charges of providing classified military information to rival China, the highest-ranking officer involved in alleged espionage in decades.
Lo Hsieh-che was recruited by the Chinese as a spy in 2004 when he was a military attache based overseas, Defense Ministry spokesman Yu Sy-tue said Wednesday. He declined to be specific, but local media said Lo was then based in the U.S.
The military launched an investigation on Lo last year when he headed the army command's communications and information office, Yu said. Lo returned to Taiwan in 2006 and was promoted to the rank of major general two years later, Yu added.
Yu declined to comment on media reports that Lo had provided critical information about various military communication networks, including one Taiwan established with U.S. assistance.
Lo was the most senior officer being accused of spying since the 1960s when a vice defense minister was arrested amid an islandwide crackdown on Communist spies.
Opposition lawmakers said the late detection of Lo's alleged connection with China has revealed a security loophole despite the military's repeated pledge not to let down its guard against the mainland's Communist government.
The case signals that China may have intensified its espionage despite the recent reconciliation between the once-bitter rivals, they warned.
Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949. China claims the self-rule island part of its own territory, and both sides have since been engaged in espionage against each other.
Since taking office in 2008, Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou has sought to engage China economically, efforts that have helped reduce tensions to the lowest point in decades.
