Wendell MinnickThe high-profile Taiwanese spy general Lo keeps on rocking the military establishment. In the Wall Street Journal Wendell Minnick gives his take on the largest spy case in 50 years in Taiwan.
The Wall Street Journal:
Wendell Minnick, the Asia bureau chief of Defense News, an independent defense trade periodical, said he believed that Gen. Lo could have caused damage in other ways because he had access to sensitive international military cables while working as an attaché. He may also have worked as a “talent spotter” recruiting other officers to spy for China, Mr. Minnick said.
China has long sought details of the Po Sheng program. The technology featured prominently in a 2008 case in which an employee at a U.S. Department of Defense agency, Gregg Bergersen, gave out secret information about the program to a naturalized U.S. citizen from Taiwan named Kuo Tai-shen with the understanding the leaks would lead to business opportunities for Mr. Bergersen. But Mr. Kuo sent the information to a Chinese official in Guangzhou, according to an affidavit relating to the case. He was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison while Mr. Bergersen received a 57-month sentence and three years supervised release.
The Chinese focus on the Po Sheng program shows its intense interest and progress in developing the capability to disrupt Taiwanese communications ahead of an attack, according to Mr. Minnick. He added the arrest itself was also an impressive achievement for Taiwan’s counterintelligence.
Wendell Minnick is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him at your meeting or conference, do get in touch.
