China is using economic incentives to target 10 types of groups in Taiwan as part of its “united front” tactics, an unnamed government official said, citing national security intelligence.
The official said the groups targeted for engagement are local townships, young people and students, Chinese spouses of Taiwanese, Aborigines, pro-China political parties and groups, temples, descendants of Chinese who retain roots in China, labor groups, farmers’ and fishermens’ associations, and military veterans.
The government had previously estimated that China spends at least NT$10 billion (US$337.8 million) per year enticing Taiwanese to join united front efforts, but they believe that there might be more “invisible funding.”
Photo: CNA
China uses economic incentives when cultivating Chinese spouses, Aboriginal leaders, and local township and religious organizations, the official said, adding that Beijing might provide free visits to China or direct benefits to improve China’s approval rating.
China is also attempting to establish internal aid in Taiwan to direct public affairs and political activities, the official said.
Different levels of officials from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), United Front Work Department (UFWD) of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee and other groups have used Taiwan’s pro-unification groups and pro-China associations to arrange visits to Taiwan, gradually affecting exchanges using united front strategies, another unnamed source familiar with the matter said.
Trade groups, Chinese-funded firms and the local offices of Chinese businesses have members who also hold Chinese government positions, the source said, adding that these people cooperate with instructions from China.
During former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, Xiamen University’s Taiwan Research Institute and other Chinese think tanks researched Taiwan’s political and economic development and social sentiment for a long period in the name of academic cooperation and field research, the source said.
The organizations claimed that hotel costs were too high and rented homes in Taiwan for professors and students, the source said, adding that the groups used this opportunity to collect intelligence.
A suspected “price list” set by the TAO has emerged in a case involving New Party spokesman Wang Ping-chung (王炳忠), a national security official said.
Prosecutors have also found several million yuan in the accounts of other pro-China political parties and groups, the official said.
China has also hinted to political party members that if they gather military information in Taiwan, China would compensate them generously, while others have traveled to China to interact with national security officials and accept funds, the official added.
These cases are difficult to investigate, because it is not easy to prove that the money in those accounts was given by Chinese intelligence agencies or agencies involved with Taiwan, the official said.
Meanwhile, Chinese divisions involved with Taiwan are spread throughout several Chinese party, government and military divisions, including the UFWD, the Taiwan affairs system, think tanks and other divisions, the official said.
Taiwan has continuously tracked China’s attempts to influence Taiwanese politics and society, and has reacted appropriately, they added.
ORDER OF 66 JETS: Delivering the F-16s faster and enabling Taiwan to develop its fleet into one of the biggest in Asia would be based on ‘risk assessment,’ one official said The US is looking for ways to accelerate delivery of Taiwan’s next generation of newly built F-16 jets, US officials said, bolstering the Taiwanese air force’s ability to respond to what Taipei and Washington see as increasing intimidation by the Chinese military. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that they have not yet come up with a solution on how to speed up delivery of Block 70 F-16s, manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp and equipped with new capabilities. The aircraft are slated to be delivered by the end of 2026. Taipei has privately expressed its wish for a faster delivery
‘STIRRING CONFLICT’: Chinese content farms use hundreds of fake accounts to reach ‘every corner of society,’ an official at the Investigation Bureau said China is conducting disinformation campaigns that involve more than 400 fake accounts targeting Taiwanese on social media, the Investigation Bureau said on Friday. China is trying to infiltrate social media, Internet forums and online chatrooms that are popular among Taiwanese to subvert the public’s trust in the government, destabilize society and meddle in elections, the bureau said. Since it started tracing fake accounts and disinformation to Chinese content farms in April last year, the Information and Communication Security Division investigated 2,773 such cases, the bureau said. It has forwarded 174 cases to prosecutors, who have listed 234 people as suspects, the bureau added. An
SEARCHING LINKS: While targeted testing added cases to existing clusters, new cases were linked to the Taipei Grand Hotel and an Yilan hotel, Chen Shih-chung said The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 52 local COVID-19 cases, including 30 linked to Taoyuan businesses and 15 linked to Kaohsiung Harbor. The remaining seven cases include a cluster of four — three family members and a friend — in Taipei and New Taipei City, two cases linked to a Tasty Steak (西堤牛排) restaurant in Taoyuan’s Jhongli District (中壢) and one case in Yilan County, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center. As 70 cases were on Friday and Saturday reported among workers at Askey Computer Corp (亞旭) in Taoyuan’s Farglory Free Trade Zone
SHOW OF FORCE: Incursions of 39 Chinese warplanes on Sunday and 13 yesterday were likely in response to US-Japan exercises off Okinawa, military analysts said China on Sunday sent 39 warplanes — mostly fighter jets — into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), in its second-largest single-day incursion, the Ministry of National Defense said. Thirteen warplanes entered the zone yesterday, it added. The ministry late on Sunday said that the air force scrambled aircraft to broadcast warnings and deployed air-defense missile systems. The Chinese warplanes included 24 J-16 fighters — which experts say are among China’s favorite jets for testing Taiwan’s air defenses — 10 J-10s and one nuclear-capable H-6 bomber. Yesterday’s incursion included eight J-16s and two J-16Ds — a jet introduced at an air show last year
RSS