Taiwan's former Deputy Defense Minister Chang Che-ping has denied allegations he revealed secrets to a spy ring working for China.

Chang, according to Mirror Media, has met with members of such a spy ring on multiple occasions, and his wife has supposedly been to Hong Kong at their invitation.

CNA reported investigators of a spy ring run by a Hong Kong business owner have concentrated their attention on Chang's activities.

Several cases have emerged in recent years of China intelligence agents recruiting retired or active Taiwanese military officers to help them with information and contacts, promising the officers vacations to China and other destinations.

The ex-deputy defense minister, who took over as president of the National Defense University July 1, said that over his long military career, he established the habit of not disclosing job information during interactions with outsiders.

He said that he avoided addressing official affairs in order to avoid misconceptions, and that members of his family who travel abroad, including to China, had always paid for them with their own money.

According to the Mirror Media report, an unnamed Hong Kong resident allegedly tried to recruit Chang and had been creating a spy network under the guise of doing business since President Tsai Ing-wen's predecessor, Ma Ying-jeou, was president from 2008 to 2016.

Chang's transfer from the ministry to the university, the report said, was suggested to President Tsai by national security officials fearing about his alleged connections with the spy ring.

When asked about the news, the Taipei District Prosecutor's Office stated that an investigation was underway but had not yet ended.

The office declined to elaborate further, CNA reported.

China has increased pressure on Taiwan since President Tsai's election in 2016, as she opposes China's claim that the self-governed, democratic island is part of its territory.