[Image/CCTV] A mainland spokeswoman confirmed on Wednesday that Tony Shih, a
Taiwan academic, was sentenced to four years in prison for espionage by a
district court in Anhui province. Shih, 60, a retired associate professor at National Taiwan Normal
University, has been reportedly collecting intelligence for the island
authority for years through academic exchange activities on mainland. He was sentenced to be deprived of his political rights for two years
and confiscated of personal property worth 20,000 yuan in the first
trial, Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs
Office, told a news conference in Beijing. The court tried the case strictly in accordance with the law and fully guaranteed his litigation rights, she said. Other Taiwan residents suspected of spying who have been detained by
the mainland include Lee Meng-chu, director of the Taiwan United Nations
Alliance (a "Taiwan independence" organization), who was investigated
for engaging in espionage work and intervening in Hong Kong affairs. Cheng Yu-chin, a Taiwan scholar, established a think tank in the
Czech Republic and used academic exchanges as a cover to spy on the
Chinese mainland and gather intelligence, according to CCTV reports.
|