The Chinese Cyberspace Administration on July 9 ordered all app stores in the country to stop offering 25 apps owned and operated by Beijing Xiaoju Technology Co, the parent company of ride-hailing and vehicle rental operator Didi Chuxing.
Most observers believe that Beijing ordered the investigation into Didi because the company collects large amounts of data and travel information about the Chinese public — which of course includes important members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), as well as the Chinese government and military — and because Didi had a few days earlier gone public on the New York Stock Exchange, stoking fears that the data might get into the hands of Western governments and harm China’s national security.
However, while observers worry about China’s tightening control over private enterprises and online public opinion, they largely overlook a potential threat to Taiwan’s information security due to Taiwanese residents of China and Chinese-invested Taiwanese firms.
Data published in 2016 showed that there were about 2 million Taiwanese employees, students, family members and businesspeople living and working in China.
It is hard to find precise figures for more recent years, but it is unlikely that the numbers have changed significantly.
The events surrounding Didi show how the Chinese government might be collecting and using people’s “digital footprints,” including identity information, nationality, conversations, cellphone positioning, facial data, address, birth date, taxi-hailing records and payments, and that the leaking of Taiwanese residents’ data might affect their personal safety, as well as Taiwan’s national security.
In democratic countries that emphasize the rule of law, companies must provide a high level of protection for personal information that they collect for business purposes.
If authorities in those states need to obtain such confidential information for criminal investigations or national security reasons, they must request them under strict requirements and go through rigorous procedures.
There is no clear evidence that Didi is endangering China’s national security, and Didi vice president Li Min (李敏) has said that all Chinese users’ data are stored on servers in China, which are not accessable from the US.
However, in a country where the CCP controls everything, authorities are determined to pursue the case against Didi.
As well as Taiwanese living and working in China, many Chinese companies have over the past few years entered the Taiwanese market, through investment, mergers, acquisitions and cooperation. Personal data collected by these companies is very likely to find its way into the hands of the Chinese government.
The Financial Times on March 16 reported that some Chinese companies had tried to bypass the privacy regulations of Apple Inc’s iOS, and that the company responded by warning that it would remove all noncompliant apps from its app store.
Meanwhile, there have been numerous instances of Chinese apps secretly collecting personal data, and integrating it with Chinese government and police data.
“Cybersecurity is national security” is the viewpoint from which Taiwan should see the events surrounding Didi, and the government should respond with appropriate countermeasures.
Kung Hsien-tai is the director of Taiwan Financial Holdings Group’s ethics department.
Translated by Julian Clegg
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing
A group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers led by the party’s legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (?) are to visit Beijing for four days this week, but some have questioned the timing and purpose of the visit, which demonstrates the KMT caucus’ increasing arrogance. Fu on Wednesday last week confirmed that following an invitation by Beijing, he would lead a group of lawmakers to China from Thursday to Sunday to discuss tourism and agricultural exports, but he refused to say whether they would meet with Chinese officials. That the visit is taking place during the legislative session and in the aftermath