China: October 15, 2002

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Taiwan admitted that one of it's army officers, and his family, had defected to China (via a tourist trip to Hong Kong.) This is an unusual event, as the defectors usually come in the other direction. This particular defection was even more unusual in that the defector was the "political officer" (ideological warfare affairs officer) for a Hawk anti-aircraft missile battery. The government insists the officer had no access to classified material (probably true), but he would be able to provide some useful information on how the Taiwanese air defense system operates.