Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Sandy Yen (
"I have received tips and have reported it to the Bureau of Investigation. Their initial investigation showed that computers at these places had been hacked or implanted with viruses by unidentified Chinese hackers," Yen said in a press release.
She said that several legislative aides had discovered that their computers, which are hooked up to the legislature's network, had also been hacked.
Their computers automatically distributed e-mail messages with viruses or fraudulent information to random recipients, she said.
Yen said the bureau had found that Chinese hackers were targeting certain DPP legislative candidates, hacking into their computers and sending e-mail messages to their supporters and the press containing fake information.
The bureau found that at least 20 DPP legislative candidates were affected, she said.
Yen said that the bureau believed Chinese hackers had possibly targeted certain computers to disrupt the elections or affect the campaigns of specific DPP legislative candidates.
The identity of the hackers remains a mystery, Yen said.
Yen said computer technicians were working on computers at the legislature to patch up weak spots in the network, delete viruses and restore files.
In related news, Web log service providers including Pixnet have discovered that domestic blogs are being blocked by Chinese firewalls.
Service providers said the blockade could be related to the upcoming elections and the appearance of political campaign ads on Web sites, or because of this year's Beijing Olympics.
Taiwanese businesses in China say that they are accustomed to Web sites being blocked without explanation.
Pixnet, Taiwan's fifth-largest blogging service provider, noticed two months ago that users in China could not access its content.
After ascertaining that its own systems were functioning normally, Pixnet determined the cause to be Chinese firewalls. While unable to provide an explanation, Pixnet chairman Lee Chun-kuang (
Taiwanese blogs on Sina, a China-based company, are also blocked, with the exception of blogs that discuss Taiwanese celebrities.
Yam's Taiwanese blogs have been blocked for over a year.
Chinese authorities censor international news concerning China and subjects abroad they deem sensitive, such as the Dalai Lama.
Most Taiwanese media Web sites are blocked in China.
Some search engines and Web services, such as Yahoo, filter their search results in response to pressure from Beijing.
PATROL PARTNERS: The ‘Chiayi’ and the ‘Penghu’ departed for a two-day joint patrol of Palau’s exclusive economic zone, the CGA’s second diplomatic visit to the country The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) set a record for its southernmost deployment of a coast guard vessel as the vessels Chiayi and the Penghu reached Palau’s Pulo Anna Island on Saturday in a cooperative exercise between the two countries. The island, about 217 nautical miles (401km) southwest of Koror in the Palauan state of Sonsorol and 1,220 nautical miles from Taiwan’s southernmost point, Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), is the furthest south a CGA vessel has sailed. The two vessels are in Palau for the coast guard’s second diplomatic visit to the country. They docked at Malakal Harbor on Tuesday last week. The coast guard
The government is monitoring online rumors that a pneumonic plague outbreak has spread from Russia into China, and it might enhance quarantine measures, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During a legislative meeting, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said that rumors had circulated that the disease had spread across several Chinese provinces. He asked Cho whether the government was prepared to prevent the disease spreading to Taiwan, given the volume of traffic between the two sides, and how concerned the government was about the alleged outbreak. The Ministry of Health and Welfare had implemented border quarantine measures after briefing the Executive
EAST OF GUAM: Tropical Storm Champi is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon, but its effect on Taiwan is uncertain due to the presence of a high-pressure system Tropical Storm Champi formed yesterday and has the potential to increase in strength, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Forecasters are closely monitoring a Pacific high-pressure system that would dictate whether the storm turns north or moves toward Taiwan next week, the CWA said. The most likely scenario is that it turns northward after passing the Ryukyu Islands, CWA forecaster Cheng Chieh-jen (鄭傑仁) said. As of 8pm yesterday, Champi was east of Guam moving west-northwest at 20kph, CWA data showed. It had maximum sustained winds near the center of 72kph and gusts of up to 101kph, the data showed. If the Pacific high-pressure system
BATCH 1: The military has plans to assign the weapons to the army to defend Taiwan proper, as well as outlying islands and the navy for the Marine Corps, the official said Taiwan is to receive 500 Stinger missiles and 178 launchers from the US by the end of the year, the first batch under a planned two-stage acquisition totaling 2,621 missiles and 763 launchers, a defense official said yesterday on condition of anonymity. The portable missiles would play a vital role in the nation’s air defense capabilities, the source said. The army plans to deploy 2,235 missiles and 657 launchers to defend Taiwan proper and outlying islands, they said, citing military documents. The navy is allotted 295 missiles and 85 launchers to arm the Marine Corps and some surface vessels that lack air defense
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