The mainland has confirmed the arrest of an eighth Taiwanese man accused of spying for the island, coming just days after another seven people involved in espionage case were named.

The Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits said Taiwanese resident Lee Hsiang-lung was hauled in on Thursday, a month after he was detained by Shanghai's state security department for spying.

"An investigation has found that Lee Hsiang-lung is a spy for Taiwan's military intelligence agency, who was on a mission to gather intelligence,'' the associations aid in a letter to Taipei-based Service Centre for Cross-Straits People.

The group is the mainland's semi-official body dealing with cross-Straits ties due to absence of official links between Taiwan and the mainland.

Lee's arrest closely follows an announcement by the association, which released the names and detailed espionage activities of another seven Taiwanese men who had been caught spying and face trial.

Zhang Genghuan	Wang Changyong
Zhang Taiping	Lin Jieshan
Fu Hongzhang	Song Xiaolian
Zhang Yuren	Li Henglong

On January 14, the association quoted state security authorities as saying seven Taiwanese men -- Fu Hong-zhang, Lin Chieh-shan, Sung Hsiao-lien, Wang Chang-yung, Chang Ken-huan, Chang Yu-jen and Tong Tai-ping -- had all been charged with gathering military intelligence for the island.

All of them conducted business on the mainland as a cover for their spy missions, the association said.

The eight Taiwanese men who have been identified are among a group of two dozen people from the island Beijing said on December 24 that it had caught in mid-December for spying.

In a rare move, mainland authorities yesterday allowed reporters from the mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan to interview two of the Taiwanese spies -- Chang Ken-huan and Wang Chang-yung -- at a detention centre in the southeastern province of Fujian.

The China News Service reported that both Chang and Wang confessed to their illegal acts.

They regret what they had done, the report said.

The 55-year-old Chang, who suffers from hypertension,indicated he had been cheated into spying for Taiwan's military intelligence agency.

He said he has received good medical service from doctors at the detention centre.

The report indicated that Taiwanese intelligence agents recruited Wang after his business began to fail in 2002.

Wang,at one point began crying, said he is fine but feels homesick, according to the report.

Both Chang and Wang told their families not to worry too much about them because they have been given good care.

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