Brian Hioeby Brian Hioe
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Photo Credit: Lai Ching-te/Facebook
A SERIES OF scandals have broken out regarding Chinese espionage cases at high levels of the DPP. Though several cases have now been reported, the highest profile has been that of a former assistant of National Security Council secretary-general Joseph Wu. It, of course, raises concerns that an assistant of Taiwan’s top national security official was implicated in Chinese espionage.
Since these spying cases have been reported on, the government has vowed to strengthen the vetting process for civil servants. The DPP has also vowed to strengthen its own internal vetting process. But this points to a number of issues at hand for Taiwan.
Taiwan has long seen high-profile cases of Chinese espionage, particularly in the military. Such individuals were often politically loyal to the pan-Blue camp and were former military veterans. Despite, in some cases, having literally served in past battles with the People’s Liberation Army, Chinese nationalism and diminished sense of authority after Taiwan’s democratization seems to have pushed them toward contact with Chinese government officials and military counterparts. Other times, it was financial woes that led them to accept bribes from the Chinese government.
It has been less common for DPP members or members of DPP-led governments to be implicated in Chinese espionage. The DPP is, after all, the pro-Taiwan sovereignty party in Taiwanese politics.
It is important to keep in mind that the cases found to date are not new spying cases. It is not as though China recruited a number of spies recently. Rather, it is worth remembering that these cases proceeded along different timelines, and were simply detected and acted upon recently.
Photo credit Lai Ching-te/Facebook
It is less clear as to why the cases all emerged now. It may be that the Lai administration implemented more strict security measures, in line with the 17 security measures he announced last month, which led to the discovery of the cases. It is also not impossible that some breakthrough led to a number of connected cases being found all at once.
Or, it is also possible that the cases were acted upon at present because it was politically expedient. The Lai administration may hope to provoke a sense of alarm regarding Chinese infiltration from the public, particularly given moves by the KMT to overturn institutions of government through moves such as cutting close to 1/3rd of the government operational budget and freezing the Constitutional Court. Anger over the KMT’s actions has led to an unprecedented wave of recalls facing all KMT legislators.
Though the DPP may face damage to its reputation as a result of the espionage cases, one notes that the KMT is not likely to lean into attacks on the DPP. For one, the KMT is the pro-unification party in Taiwanese politics. High-ranking KMT officials, such as legislative caucus leader Fu Kun-chi or former president Ma Ying-jeou, routinely travel to China to meet with Chinese government officials. KMT legislators, too, have in recent times called for lifting penalties on former military personnel participating in Chinese government-run events and singing the Chinese national anthem.
If there is a reputational cost for the DPP as a result of the cases, it is probable that the DPP will simply dig up a number of similar cases in the KMT, and go on the offensive. This is how the DPP mitigated scandals during other times when it came under scrutiny, such as when a wave of #MeToo cases emerged among Taiwanese political workers. The KMT continues to be more strongly associated with China than the DPP for reasons that are unsurprising and the DPP therefore will not be impacted as much by the cases. The KMT will not lean too heavily into criticizing the DPP, given its closeness to China.
On the other hand, it is a question of what measures will be taken to strengthen security. Taiwan has long been criticized on matters such as a lack of a robust classified information system. One notes that such issues are complicated when KMT legislators are themselves among those accused of leaking confidential details of Taiwanese military programs to China, as with KMT legislator Ma Wen-chun facing allegations of leaking details of Taiwan’s domestic submarine program to China and South Korea. Changes may require significant reform of the internal culture of Taiwan’s government and security establishment.