China has been using technology as a means of infiltration and sabotage. The Chinese government has been stealing confidential information and collecting data from other countries, and worse, interfering in others’ elections. This has alerted the whole world, leading to bans on products from Chinese tech firms such as Huawei. Some countries have also passed laws and laid out regulations to prohibit exports of advanced chips to China.
Yet, what is more troubling is China’s tactics of human wave attacks and the use of bagmen. In other words, when Chinese infiltration is practiced, it is usually done at every level through different groups of people, including overseas students, reporters, tourists and businesspeople. A “honey trap” is also a commonly used strategy. Many countries’ intelligence agencies have also warned us of the extent of Chinese infiltration, which has become unprecedentedly extensive and delicately practiced.
The target of China’s honey traps includes not only a country’s legislative members and officials, but also the key players around them, such as consulting staff and assistants. Soldiers and commercial organizations are also targets, especially those related to sectors of interest to China, namely military-industrial manufacturers and semiconductor and biotechnology firms.
In 2018, France’s minister of defense and national security already reported that Chinese students in Brittany tried to obtain strategic information by attending schools there. It was also mentioned in the report that female Chinese students were trying to marry soldiers and engineers working in national defense.
China’s honey traps are not merely aimed at establishing intimate relationships; they try to blackmail people through badger games.
Needless to say, the main purpose is infiltration, and the fundamental principle to carry it out is to look for the target’s weaknesses and needs. If the person is in need of money, bribes might be offered, and if the person is wanton, a sex trap might be set up. Sometimes, infiltration is not meant for an individual, or rather, the individual is never the point. The objective is always to accomplish China’s strategic planning and fulfill its political goals. The situation in Hong Kong has already proven that.
Many Chinese citizens try to obtain a Certificate of Resident Status in Hong Kong by marital means. After several years, more Chinese are now married to Hong Kong residents. This has brought a huge impact to the structure of Hong Kong’s population and furthermore, drastically changed Hong Kong’s local culture. Sexual disputes between Chinese citizens and Hong Kong residents have occurred. Sham marriages have become quite common. News of how an elderly man in Hong Kong was tricked by a young Chinese lady is far from unique. China has a political goal and the values of Chinese are very different from those of Hong Kong residents. This has destroyed families in Hong Kong, one after another.
Taiwan has been the most significant target of China’s infiltration. Taiwanese are naturally a target for China’s honey traps.
Infiltration is subtle, delicate and embedded in daily life. Yet this does not mean that there is no way to stop it. Taiwan’s national security agencies must investigate those who are from China or have connections to China more thoroughly. China’s infiltration practices should also be exposed and regulated through legislation, so that Taiwan’s officials can employ more legislative tools to protect Taiwanese.
Hong Tsun-ming, originally from Hong Kong, is a specialist in the Taiwan Statebuilding Party’s international section.
Translated by Emma Liu
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