Taiwan about to become a nuclear power, this agent leaked...
Taiwan was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons in 1988, but then a senior nuclear engineer, Chang Hsen-yi, exposed this secret plan to the US. This forced taiwan to shut down its almost completed nuclear program. Chang's move was considered a "betrayal" in taiwan, as many believed it could help maintain a balance with China. Thirty years later, critics claim that this disclosure weakened taiwan against a possible Chinese invasion.
Chang Hsen-yi's side
81-year-old Chang Hsen-yi says he did not commit any betrayal against Taiwan. In an interview to CNN, he said, "I decided to give information to the CIA because I felt it was right for the people of Taiwan." He also said that both Chinese and Taiwanese are of the same origin, so making nuclear weapons was an unnecessary thing.
Taiwan's nuclear program and its beginnings
In 1964, china conducted its first nuclear test. In 1966, Taiwan's leader Chiang Kai-shek launched a secret nuclear weapons program. In fact, this project was run by the Ministry of Defense and the Changshan Science Research Institute. Chang Hsen-yi, who was an army captain, joined this project and took nuclear training in the US. While being trained at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, he was first contacted by the CIA.
Contact with CIA and disclosure
The CIA contacted for the first time in 1969-70, but Chang Hsen-yi did not show interest then.
During his visit to the US in 1980, the CIA contacted again, and this time he agreed to talk.
In 1984, he became an official informant of the CIA.
In january 1988, he gave information about Taiwan's nuclear plan to the US.
The CIA evacuated Chang Hsien-yi, his wife and three children from Taiwan.
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