A U.S. Navy officer who is a naturalized citizen from Taiwan is facing espionage and other charges for allegedly passing state secrets, possibly to China and Taiwan.
A U.S. official, speaking on anonymity, identified the officer as Lieutenant Commander Edward Lin. According to Navy article that profiled Lin in 2008, he left Taiwan at age 14, lived in other countries and eventually came to the U.S.
A redacted Navy charge sheet said Lin was assigned to the Navy’s Patrol and Reconnaissance Group, which manages intelligence-gathering activities.
The charge sheet accuses him of communicating secret information two times to a representative of a foreign government and attempting to do so on three other occasions with “reason to believe it would be used to the advantage of a foreign nation.”
The document did not identify any countries, but the U.S. official said China and Taiwan were possible.
Lin is also facing prostitution and adultery charges and has been held in pretrial confinement, the official added.
Chinese and Taiwanese foreign ministry and defense officials have either said they do not have information about the case or declined to comment.
The suspect’s identity and link to the charges were initially reported by USNI News.