4 Taiwanese Men Convicted of Spying

A Beijing court convicted four Taiwanese businessmen of spying. One of the men, Kou Chien-ming, was sentenced to four years in prison, while the other three were not punished, the official New China News Agency reported. Kou immediately appealed the verdict, Taiwan’s Central News Agency said. The Taiwanese report said the other three men would not be free to return to Taiwan until a confirmation of the verdict was issued. Taiwanese newspapers have speculated that China was likely to repatriate the men to minimize disruption to efforts to renew dialogue with Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a renegade province.