Prosecutors opt not to indict Chinese executives in security case
ROC Central News Agency
08/18/2023 03:38 PM
Taipei, Aug. 18 (CNA) Taiwan's High Prosecutors Office has agreed with a decision made by Taipei prosecutors not to indict Chinese businessman Xiang Xin (向心) and his wife Kung Ching (龔青) on national security charges due to a lack of evidence.
In view of the investigation carried out by district prosecutors, there was not enough evidence to suggest that the two had violated Taiwan's National Security Act, the high prosecutors office said in a statement Thursday.
Xiang, the CEO of China Innovation Investment Ltd., and Kung, an alternate board member, were arrested by Investigation Bureau agents at Taoyuan International Airport on Nov. 24, 2019 before boarding a flight to Hong Kong.
Their arrests came after William Wang Liqiang (王立強), a self-proclaimed Chinese spy seeking asylum in Australia, said China Innovation Investment, where he was formerly employed, was a front for efforts by Chinese intelligence to target Hong Kong's democracy movement and Taiwan's elections.
Though Xiang and Kung were released days after their arrest, they were barred from leaving Taiwan pending further investigation into Wang's allegations.
On April 8, 2021, the couple was indicted on charges of money laundering, and prosecutors said they remained under investigation for alleged violations of Taiwan's National Security Act as they were believed to have conspired with Chinese intelligence.
In November 2021, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office decided not to prosecute the two Chinese nationals on national security grounds due to a lack of evidence, and they submitted the case to the high prosecutors office for review.
The office subsequently returned the case to the district office requesting further investigation, arguing that there were still details related to Wang's allegations that needed to be clarified.
After more than a year of information gathering, Taipei prosecutors stood by their initial decision and decided in May 2023 not to indict Xiang and Kung for a national security breach, citing insufficient evidence.
The office had reached out to Australia for help, but were told that "circumstances do not qualify for mutual legal assistance," it said, adding that prosecutors had also sought assistance from Chinese authorities but to no avail.
On Thursday, the high prosecutors office said there was no need to reconsider the case again and determined that the decision not to indict on national security grounds was final.
The couple was also acquitted of the money laundering charge by the Taipei District Court in February 2022, also because of a lack of evidence.
Prosecutors appealed the ruling, however, and the case was heard on July 12 by the High Court, which said it will announce a verdict in September.
Wang was refused asylum in January 2023 and was facing deportation back to China, according to a report in the South China Morning Post.
(By Hsieh Hsin-en and Ko Lin)
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