The warning came after Taiwan arrested army major general Lo Hsien-che on charges of spying for China, which is still technically at war with the island despite reduced tensions in recent years.

"Some of the suspected Chinese agents have not yet been arrested as the authorities are short of solid evidence against them, even though they have been closely monitored for some time," the retired agent, whose name was not given, told the China Times.

Others have been left to believe they are safe "for strategic reasons", he said, implying that they could be used, for example by security forces feeding the agents wrong information in the hope it would be passed on to China.

He warned that since Lo had escaped detection by Taiwanese security forces for nine years before his arrest, his case might just be the tip of an iceberg.

"Many more spies for the Chinese mainland might have gone undetected.... The extent of the infiltration into Taiwan's government units may be worse than imagined."

Lo was recruited by China while stationed in Thailand between 2002 and 2005 and was detained late last month.

Meanwhile, the Taipei-based Liberty Times newspaper reported that Lo had confessed to spying for China.

The paper also reported that China seems to have engineered Lo's rise in the Taiwanese bureaucracy.

Lo appeared to have received tip-offs from Beijing regarding Chinese intelligence operations in Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, helping him win the trust of his superiors, it said.

At the time of his arrest, the 51-year-old was head of the army's telecommunications and electronic information department, Taiwan's defence ministry has said.

It remains unclear how much harm Lo caused Taiwan's military, but given the sensitive affairs he was in charge of, the impact of the affair is thought likely to be serious.

earlier related report
Chronology of Taiwan, China spy cases
Taipei (AFP) Feb 14, 2011 - Here is a chronology of major reported espionage cases unveiled since 1999 between Taiwan and China, which have been spying on each other since they split in 1949 at the end of a civil war:

1999:

- September: China executes Liu Liankun, a major general in the People's Liberation Army, after he is found spying for Taiwan, making him the highest ranking Chinese official ever to be sentenced for espionage on behalf of the island.

2006:

- April: China executes Tong Daning, an official at an undisclosed government agency, after he is found spying for Taiwan. Media say he was employed at an agency in central Henan province in overall charge of managing the Yellow River.

2006:

- August: A Chinese court sentences Hong Kong journalist Ching Cheong, 56, to five years in jail on charges of spying for Taiwan. He maintains his innocence, according to his family.

2007:

- November: Taiwan indicts two former agents of its Investigation Bureau, which has counter-espionage as one of its responsibilities, on suspicion of leaking secrets to rival China.

2008:

- November: China executes Wo Weihan, a businessman, and Guo Wanjun, a rocket scientist, for selling secrets about the mainland missile programme to Taiwan.

2009:

- January: Taiwan arrests a government official from the island's presidential office, Wang Ren-bing, on suspicion of handing over documents to China related to the presidential office.

2010:

- November: Taiwan arrests army colonel Lo Chi-cheng, a senior officer in the island's Military Intelligence Bureau, for leaking to China confidential documents that have compromised crucial Taiwanese intelligence networks in the mainland. Double agent Lo Pin is also arrested on the same charges.

2011:

- January: Taiwan arrests army major general Lo Hsien-che on charges of spying for China in what is tipped to be the island's worst espionage case in 50 years. At the time of his arrest, the 51-year-old is head of the army's telecommunications and electronic information department.

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