An employee of a local TV station in east China's Anhui Province has been sentenced to 11 years in prison by the Anqing Intermediate People's Court for spying on behalf of the Taiwan authorities.

At the same time, a Taiwan resident was sentenced to 10 years for his involvement in the case, according to a China News Agency report Thursday.

The report did not say on what date the sentences were handed down.

Li Qingsheng, former deputy director of Anqing Television's advertising department, was sentenced for selling military and economic information to Taiwan. Chang Hsin-min, from Taiwan, helped Li convey the information to the Taiwan authority's intelligence agency.

Both men have appealed, according to the report.

The court also ordered the seizure of assets worth 50,000 yuan (US$6,000) from each, the report said.

Li, 47, was found to have collected intelligence on behalf of the Taiwan authorities for six years. He moved his residence to the Taiwan in 1994 together with his wife, but continued to live in Anqing. He visited the island province three times between 1994 and 1997 and joined the "Taiwan military intelligence bureau" during that period. His monthly salary, the court found, was US$400.

(China Daily June 4, 2004)