The Chinese spy machine infiltrating Taiwan’s military

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. TAIPEI—Sgt. Lai Chung-yu had almost everything a Chinese spy recruiter could want in a Taiwanese asset.

As a member of the military police battalion tasked with guarding the offices of the president and many senior officials, he knew the security personnel and measures used to protect them. He was also in debt and short on cash. So when he searched online for a loan to keep himself afloat, a Chinese agent hooked him with an opportunity for easy money.

All the sergeant had to do was snap some photos of sensitive security details with his cellphone. Lai, according to Taiwan authorities, was a cog in an extensive Chinese spy machine that has infiltrated Taiwan’s armed forces and political establishment, funneling intelligence to Beijing. As China’s adversaries around the world labor to shut the door on Beijing’s espionage operations, nowhere is the threat of infiltration greater.

Taiwan officials fear that agents already in place on the island would aid a military attack by China, which claims Taiwan as its own and has threatened to seize it by force. China’s spying operations are rapidly advancing, using complex operations and new technology that together pose “a potential serious threat to our national security," Taiwan authorities said in a recent assessment. A campaign launched in March by Taiwan President Lai Ching-te to combat Chinese espionage and influence has yielded some high-profile arrests that shed new light on China’s strategy to undermine the island from within.