Taiwan Was On Verge Of Becoming Nuclear Power. Then This Agent Alerted US

It was 1988, and Taiwan was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. But just then, one of its most senior nuclear engineers decided to expose the country's secret programme to the United States. Taiwan had no other option but to shut down its almost-complete programme. The country and critics blame Chang Hsein-yi for "betraying" them in what could have helped Taipei keep pace with China.

Thirty years later, critics claim he weakened Taipei's defences against a potential Chinese invasion. 

But 81-year-old Chang Hsein-yi, who hails from Idaho, said there was no betrayal at all. "I decided to provide information to the CIA because I think it was good for the people of Taiwan," he told CNN.

The whistleblower added, "Yes, there was a political struggle between China and Taiwan, but developing any kind of deadly weapon was nonsense to me. I believe we are all Chinese and that doesn't make sense."

The first nuclear test was carried out in Beijing in 1964, 15 years after the Communists won the Chinese Civil War. The government of Taiwan was concerned that this would be used against the island.

Two years later, Taiwan's leader, Chiang Kai-shek, launched a secret program to develop nuclear weapons. The project was managed by the Defence Ministry and carried out by the Changshan Science Research Institute, which was responsible for conducting research and laying the technical groundwork for nuclear weapon development.

Mr Hsein-yi became an army captain and joined the project a year later. He was chosen to undergo advanced nuclear training, which included US studies. After studying physics and nuclear science in Taiwan, he was trained at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.

Mr Hsein-yi said that although Taipei maintained that its nuclear research was being conducted for peaceful purposes, the students sent to the US were aware that their actual goal was to learn how to create nuclear weapons.

"We were kind of excited and trying to get the job done. All we did was focus on the area they assigned us; we put all our efforts into doing it, to learn as much as possible," he said.

He claimed that he got a call from the CIA while he was training in 1969 or 1970, but he wasn't aware of them until much later. The caller invited him to lunch and said he was interested in the nuclear power sector. However, Mr Hsein-yi initially showed no interest, as he was focused on his mission.

When CIA officials approached him again during a trip to the United States in 1980, he agreed to speak.

Mr Hsein-yi explained that to confirm he wasn't working for both sides, the Americans made him take a very thorough lie-detector test. They informed him that they already knew who he was and were interested in him.

After these initial interactions, Mr Hsein-yi began helping the CIA with various small tasks, and in 1984, he officially became a CIA informant.

In January 1988, after he alerted the US about Taiwan's plans, the CIA exfiltrated Mr Hsein-yi, his wife and three children from their home country. The US administration had enough evidence by then to pressure the Taiwanese government into cooperating and giving up their nuclear ambitions.

Mr Hsein-yi, who was declared wanted in Taiwan at the time, never returned home, for he wasn't sure how the country would receive him.