TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Former Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator Lo Chih-ming (羅志明) is not guilty of recruiting spies for China, while retired Navy Major General Hsia Fu-hsiang (夏復翔) will face a partial retrial, the Supreme Court decided Wednesday (Oct. 23).

Doing business with China, Lo reportedly came into contact in 2013 with an alleged Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officer named Li Ying (李鷹). Prosecutors said the former lawmaker recruited Hsia to invite retired officers to China.

From 2014 to 2018, Hsia and 48 recruits attended seminars, golf tournaments, commemorative activities, and air shows in China. The group organized 13 trips, according to prosecutors.

Kaohsiung District Court found Lo and Hsia not guilty of recruiting spies due to lack of evidence. However, the latter received a five-month prison sentence for planning to break the National Security Act for working on behalf of a Chinese state-run organization.

Hsia’s sentence was light because he had not succeeded in forming a spy ring and because he admitted his activities during the investigation, per CNA. Following appeals by prosecutors, the Taiwan High Court in April found both men not guilty.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the appeal from prosecutors against the High Court verdict for Lo, with no new appeals possible. In Hsia’s case, the Supreme Court revoked the acquittal for the allegations of attempting to form a spy ring on China’s behalf. As a result, the High Court will have to start a new trial to consider the allegations.