A Taiwan court sentenced two men for building a Chinese spy network aimed at recruiting young politicians and military officers, a win for Taiwan's counter-intelligence but a sign of how deep Beijing's recruiting reaches.

• A Taiwanese businessman with factories in China was recruited by Beijing and sent home to build a spy ring, getting 10 years and 6 months.
• He pulled in a retired Executive Yuan public relations chief who had taken a teaching job in China, using that job as leverage; he got 5 years.
• Their orders came from a Chinese United Front official who wanted serving and retired soldiers, and above all young politicians from every party just starting their careers.
• The goal was to track what government offices and politicians were doing, with recruits flown to China to meet handlers in person.
• Everyone they approached — village heads, retired civil servants, a defense ministry contractor — turned them down, so the recruiting failed.

Outlook: Both men can appeal, and Taiwan is likely to keep pressing spy cases as China works the same channels through business and academic ties.