In order to ensure the interests of doing business in China, Taiwanese businessman Cheng Mingjia was absorbed by the CCP as a development organization for communist spies returning to Taiwan. In 2021, he recruited Hu Pengnian, the retired section chief of the Public Relations Section of the Executive Yuan who went to China to teach after his retirement, to join the organization. He wanted to recruit our politicians and retired military personnel to join the organization in order to understand the dynamics of government departments and politicians, especially targeting "younger generations of various parties who have just entered the political arena." The High Prosecutor's Office in January this year indicted two people on charges of organizing China's development under the National Security Law; the High Court today sentenced Zheng Mingjia to 10 years and six months in prison, and Hu Pengnian to five years in prison for attempted development. Can be appealed.
According to the investigation, Zheng Mingjia went to Guangzhou, China to start a business in 2008. Since 2016, he has successively served as the president of the "Guangzhou Taiwan Youth Home", a peripheral organization under the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China, and the deputy director of the youth department of the "Guangdong Overseas Friendship Association". He was also appointed as a non-voting member of the Guangzhou CPPCC.
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According to the investigation, Zheng recruited Hu Pengnian in 2021. After Hu retired as the head of the Public Relations Section of the Executive Yuan, he went to teach at China Southern College. Zheng took advantage of Hu Li's weakness in securing a teaching position in China and arranged for Hu to meet with a cadre named Chen from the United Front Work Department of China and the Taiwan Working Group of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Chen directly handed over the task and asked Hu to recruit current retired military personnel to join him, especially targeting "younger generations of various parties who are new to politics" to spy on confidential information from party and government departments and public opinion organs. He also asked the target to go to China to meet with members of the Taiwan Working Group, hoping to understand the dynamics of government departments and politicians.
The High Prosecutor's Office found that Zheng and Hu returned to Taiwan many times to develop their organizations. They contacted people including district chiefs, retired government civil servants, and contractors of the Ministry of National Defense. They also persuaded the people to go to China to meet with Chen, who certified and delivered the tasks in person. Although the people they contacted refused and failed, the two people's behavior has caused major harm to our national security.
The Taipei City Investigation Division of the Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Justice received the report and reported it to the High Prosecutor's Office to direct the investigation. The prosecutor directed the Taipei, Tainan, Kaohsiung City Investigation Offices and the Hsinchu City Investigation Station to launch four consecutive waves of search operations since September 2025. Zheng and Hu After the two people arrived at the case, they were detained and banned from seeing them. During the investigation, Zheng Man denied the crime and Hu confessed to the crime. On January 26 this year, the High People's Procuratorate investigated and prosecuted the two people. Zheng specifically asked for more than 10 years in prison and Hu Jian was asked to impose an appropriate sentence. The verdict was announced today after a trial by the High Court.
