TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The government plans to use the threat of the withdrawal of pensions and medical services to scare retired military officers away from spying for China, reports said Wednesday.

Over the past few years, China has tried to recruit serving and military officers to collect confidential information. Go-betweens, often business people working in China, have been asked by intelligence agents to recruit Taiwanese officers by offering them cash and free travel for passing on sensitive documents.

Veterans Affairs Council Minister Yan Te-fa (嚴德發) told lawmakers Wednesday he was looking at adding new restrictions to the payment of retirement pensions and healthcare services to military personnel found guilty of spying for China, the Liberty Times reported. The aim is to educate the retired officers about China’s infiltration tactics and scare them into staying away from illegal behavior, he said.

The planned changes will hopefully persuade officers and veterans that the cost of providing information to China is too high, according to Yan. The military should be helped not to fall into traps set by Beijing, he added.

Lawmakers said China’s infiltration and united front tactics were growing more diverse, and were not limited to particular political parties, but affected all of Taiwan. The legislators warned that retired officers were often involved in military contracts and travel agencies, and could use that work to assist China’s efforts.