The High Court yesterday convicted eight current and retired military officers for developing a spy network for China, including a failed plot to fly a CH-47 Chinook attack helicopter to a Chinese aircraft carrier in the Taiwan Strait.

The defendants received sentences ranging from 18 months to 13 years for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法), the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍刑法) and taking bribes.

The defendants were with key military sites, including the 601st Brigade of Aviation and Special Forces Command and the Huadong Defense Command.