Taipei, Feb. 14 (CNA) The head of the Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau (MOJIB) on Monday admitted that mainland Chinese spies have infiltrated Taiwan and conducted intelligence work here.
Most of the undercover activities, however, were intercepted or put under close surveillance, said MOJIB Director Wang Kuang-yu.
Confirming reports that the nation's intelligence authorities, including the National Security Bureau, the Military Intelligence Bureau and MOJIB, have recently stepped up security checks on mainland visitors here, Wang acknowledged that relevant work has been intensified in recent weeks, just for strengthening national security in the lead-up to the presidential election.
Wang, however, denied that the recent work is related to the so-called "Puo Yun (Stroking the Cloud) Operation" as has been rumored.
Wang disclosed that a total of 376 mainlanders were expelled over the past three years after being found to have carried out undercover intelligence work in Taiwan.
Most of them came to Taiwan legally by joining mainland Chinese groups for cultural activities or by visiting relatives living in Taiwan, Wang disclosed.
Usually the mainlanders who worked as "cells," or infiltrators, departed from the group which legally brought them to Taiwan on the day after arrival and hid among Taiwanese society while they began their information-collecting or intelligence work, Wang said.
Wang declined to give a detailed answer when asked how many undercover mainlanders he believes are still in Taiwan, stating only that "there are a few of them, and all of them are under surveillance." (By Deborah Kuo)
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