Intelligence/Closer ties – more spies

As relations continue to expand between China and Taiwan since the election of Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou in 2008, so does espionage.

With the 2009 Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, cross-strait ties have flourished. The number of Chinese visitors to the island is now around 3 million annually. The joke among many government officials in Beijing, according to media reports, is that it will be easier to buy Taiwan than invade it.

Recent cases show that China is clearly using money to coax political officials and military officers to view China as a benefactor, not an enemy. Last year alone, 15 alleged spy cases surfaced. Of those, 90 percent involved either active or retired military personnel, according to a report presented to the legislature's Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee by the National Security Bureau.

Chinese Spies Expand Operations in Taiwan