China says it has captured a group of Taiwanese spies

China says it has captured people spying for rival Taiwan and cracked a series of espion cases. Reports by state TV and or outlets Sunday said multiple suspects were detained but gave numbers or identities for most of m. China and Taiwan split amid a civil war in 1949 and have extensive business ties but official relations. Both sides regularly gar intelligence on each or.

Security personnel solved more than 100 spying cases part of an initiative dubbed Operation Thunder 2020, China Central Television reported. CCTV identified one suspect as a Taiwanese man, Li Mengju, who it said took photos of paramilitary armed police in Shenzhen, a city that borders Hong Kong. It said he was detained in August at a Shenzhen border crossing.

“ pictures and videos he shot are eugh for professional espion organizations analysis. It is eugh for m to assess our entire troop's numbers and equipment status,” said an unnamed police officer interviewed in segment.

It is unclear what or information Li was accused of garing or what or detainees were accused of. Taiwan's Mainland Affairs council said Monday accusations are purely “political speculation” from Chinese side. China is “falsely accusing our people of espion" and “harming relations between two sides,” council said in a statement.

council criticized a 13-minute-long TV segment in which Li was shown confessing as "totally inconsistent with due process of law.” “I'm very sorry, and I feel that I have done a lot of wrong things that may have harmed country,” Li said on CCTV.