TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A female criminal gang member and nine serving and retired military officers were charged with spying for China, reports said Thursday (Oct. 24).

The woman, named as Lee Huei-hsin (李慧馨), 31, held a position inside the “Sun Alliance” organized crime group, and also managed a temple in the New Taipei district of Luzhou, the Liberty Times reported. Her first contact with Chinese intelligence officials dated back to a trip to Macau for temple exchanges in June 2023.

Lee allegedly used her connections in the criminal and religious world to find military officers with financial problems who could be persuaded to collect information for money.

The recruits for the spy ring had to hand over a copy of their ID and were required to have a picture taken in uniform holding a Chinese flag and promising to surrender in case of war. Lee then asked them to collect sensitive military information, promising payments of up to NT$150,000 (US$4,600).

If they succeeded in recruiting new members for the group, they could make even more money. Six serving officers and three retired officers signed up to work for Lee. 

The information the group collected included travel records and work schedules, and was transferred to China using the Telegram messaging app.

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) spent five months investigating the spy ring and collecting evidence to end up with 12 suspects. A female lieutenant and a member of Lee’s gang were released for lack of evidence, but the others were charged with breaking the National Security Act.