TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs's (MOFA) Department of Treaty and Legal Affairs Roy Hsu and others on Tuesday (May 7) accused Kuomintang legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin of violating Article 132, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code, which pertains to the disclosure of secrets not related to national defense.
Hsu Chiao-hsin, a day earlier, had questioned the integrity of Taiwan's plan to assist Ukraine in collaboration with the Czech Republic.
Roy Hsu stated that Taiwan's aid to Ukraine, in partnership with the Czech Republic, is above board. The Legislative Yuan has reviewed the related budget, and all relevant documents have been legally submitted to the Legislative Yuan for inspection. MOFA has classified all related documents as confidential.
Roy Hsu criticized Hsu Chiao-hsin for knowingly violating the law despite being a legislator and treating the protection of official secrets lightly. MOFA believes that Hsu Chiao-hsin is suspected of violating Article 132, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code, which stipulates that "a public official who discloses or gives away a document, plan, information, or another thing of a secret nature relating to matters other than national defense shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than three years."
Hsu Chiao-hsin disclosed a confidential document from MOFA, revealing a US$10 million aid project for Ukraine signed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Czech government. The contract, which lasts for 36 months, designates the Czech Health Technology Institute to execute the aid plan, with US$3-4 million allocated to purchase Taiwanese equipment. The confidential document did not specify whether it was open for bidding and will be declassified on Dec. 31, 2033.
Hsu Chiao-hsin questioned that Taiwan will allocate US$3 million to the Czech Health Technology Institute account in early 2024. The company's head, Petr Foit, had previously visited Taiwan with Czech officials. As the document was confidential, Hsu Chiao-hsin covered part of the content with a sticky note when she disclosed the information.
The Taiwan Statebuilding Party had also filed a complaint a day earlier with the Taipei District Prosecutor's Office against Hsu Chiao-hsin for disclosing the confidential document, accusing her of violating the Criminal Code's provisions on the disclosure of national defense secrets, the disclosure of secrets not related to national defense, and the Classified National Security Information Protection Act.