The Yomiuri Shimbun on Saturday last week reported that China has been using advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology to intervene in foreign elections. The 2024 local elections in Taiwan were a target, it reported, citing documents from a Chinese state-aligned intelligence analysis company, with next year’s local elections and the 2028 presidential election likely targets as well.
The Japanese newspaper reported that the Nashville, Tennessee-based Institute of National Security at Vanderbilt University had obtained nearly 400 pages of leaked documents from GoLaxy, a Beijing-based firm with ties to the Chinese government and military intelligence. The documents showed that China had used AI to drive large-scale propaganda campaigns in Taiwan and Hong Kong to shape public opinion.
The documents showed that GoLaxy used a smart propaganda system to identify and surveil key public opinion influencers, and build psychological profiles. It compiled dossiers of more than 2,000 political figures and influencers in the US and used the AI tools to generate an army of bots that could unilaterally spread disinformation and engage in online discussions to influence target audiences.
The university said that Beijing’s cognitive warfare capability, with tools such as GoLaxy’s systems, has leaped from imitation to innovation. The propaganda operation had been deployed to target protests in Hong Kong to identify opinion leaders and suppress opposition to implementation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong in 2020.
In Taiwan’s 2024 elections, it used a network of AI-generated bots and accounts to weaken candidates opposed to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and exacerbate political divisions and social antagonism.
The Yomiuri Shimbun also quoted experts who warned that the tactics would be deployed with even greater intensity, as the administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) seeks to block President William Lai (賴清德) from getting re-elected in 2028.
Being on the front line opposing China’s multifaceted coercion tactics, Taiwan has long been targeted with cognitive warfare attacks. The threats have evolved and escalated with AI, which allows more adept psychological disguises and manipulation tactics.
In November last year, the Government Service Network reported that there were 2.8 million cyberattacks a day on average, while intelligence agencies detected more than 1.5 million controversial posts by more than 10,800 abnormal online accounts, National Security Bureau data showed. Most of the activity was linked to China and was designed to influence public opinion, intensify division in Taiwan, paint China in a good light and evoke distrust of the US, Taiwan’s most crucial international supporter.
The CCP has applied its public opinion manipulation tactics to get Taiwanese to attack Taiwan and have its content shared to amplify its attacks.
A US Department of Defense report on China’s military developments released last month said that “in May and October 2024, China exploited the timing of military exercises around Taiwan to combine official accounts and proxy accounts impersonating Taiwan citizens to exaggerate the PLA’s [Chinese People’s Liberation Army] capabilities and spread disinformation narratives about US-Japan unwillingness to aid Taiwan’s defense.”
The report said that “Beijing would certainly use advanced information operations to support military campaigns against Taiwan” in an attempt to “further isolate and degrade the [nation] and to control the international narrative of the conflict.”
There was a clear example of the CCP’s tactics on display this week as the PLA launched military drills surrounding Taiwan. A wave of obvious propaganda circulated online, with even Taiwanese media and social media accounts propagating false reports. The Ministry of National Defense identified and refuted at least 46 pieces of disinformation, with the messages tending to focus on slandering Taiwan’s armed forces and eroding trust in the US.
The misinformation operations also aimed to instill fear and weaken public confidence in the government in Taipei and the nation’s military, hoping to sow disunity among Taiwanese and stifle determination on defense. Beijing hopes that it can achieve its goals without launching an invasion, which would come with a disastrous price tag for China.
Its strategy of weaponizing the openness, transparency and diversity of democratic societies is a threat to democracies around the world, not just Taiwan.
Facing such a severe challenge, Taiwan urgently needs to enhance and upgrade its information technology capabilities and promulgate legislation to combat misinformation. Improving media literacy is also important.
Taiwan must solve these issues swiftly. The public must understand what is at stake. As Lai said: “At this critical moment, unity among Taiwanese to counter misinformation and disinformation constitutes the strongest defense of our democratic homeland.”
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