Taiwan jails 4 soldiers for spying for China

Four Taiwanese soldiers, including three from a unit in charge of security for the president's office, have been sentenced to prison for photographing and leaking confidential information to China, a court said.

The number of people prosecuted for spying for Beijing has risen sharply in recent years, with retired and serving members of Taiwan's military the main targets of Chinese infiltration efforts, official figures show.

It comes after President Lai Ching-te announced this month plans to reinstate military judges to hear Chinese espionage cases and other offences involving Taiwanese service members.

Three members of a military unit in charge of security for the Presidential Office, and a soldier in the defence ministry's information and telecommunications command were convicted for violating national security law, the Taipei district court said on Wednesday.

"Their acts betrayed the country and endangered national security," the court said in a statement.

The four received jail terms ranging from five years and 10 months to seven years for passing "internal military information that should be kept confidential to Chinese intelligence agents for several months", the court said.