Mon, May 11, 2026 page8

• Keep that ‘red money’ away from Taiwan

  • By Steve Ho 何不孝
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  The Ciaotou District Prosecutors’ Office in Kaohsiung has indicted former CTi News host and YouTuber Lin Chen-you (林宸佑) on espionage charges, alleging that he received funding from foreign forces, produced videos at the direction of a Chinese agent that were critical of the Democratic Progressive Party’s recall campaign and used his bank accounts to funnel bribes from a person surnamed Huang (黃) to military personnel in exchange for classified information.

  Taiwan must confront the fact that “red money,” that is money from communist China, no longer only affects other countries. It flows through Taiwan’s media, traffic infrastructure and military networks.

  The most glaring aspect of the Lin case is not how much money passed hands, but that political content has become monetized.

  Prosecutors said that some of Lin’s video content was provided by foreign sources or that foreign sources reviewed content before it was posted. Lin verified that he had completed his task with screenshots of engagement data. That payments can be delivered, verified, and settled contractually; content is assigned, traffic is verified and payment is settled through cryptocurrency.

  It is more alarming that funding for the delivery of foreign influence campaigns and the transmission of military intelligence appears to have been placed within the same chain. Prosecutors indicate that accounts under Lin’s name were used to transfer bribes. Recipients allegedly included active and retired military personnel, as well as civil servants.

  If news and social media, cryptocurrency and military connections can all be linked through a single overseas operation, the national security risks are significant.

  In the past, discussions about alleged infiltration by the Chinese Communist Party were often dismissed as “red-baiting.” Democratic societies inherently protect diverse opinions, but there must be a clear boundary drawn between independent expression and news directed or funded by foreign actors.

  Criticizing the government is a right. Receiving foreign funding to produce political content is another matter entirely. The issue of “red money” must not be ignored. If concrete warnings about suspicious financial transactions continue to be labeled as “political manipulation,” the public would be less vigilant and the risk of foreign infiltration would grow.

  Criminal prosecution alone is not enough to protect against foreign interference. When political content involves foreign collaboration and financial transfers, audiences should at least have the opportunity to know of any overseas funding. Likewise, the military cannot focus only on traditional forms of contact but must also account for financial inducements and referrals through third parties.

  Political stances should be debated freely, but foreign funding should not be allowed to anonymously embed itself within domestic public discourse, making it difficult to distinguish whether what people are seeing is an independent viewpoint or a task being executed on behalf of a foreign actor.

  Lin’s case exposes an unavoidable reality: The risk of foreign infiltration does not necessarily enter through the formal gates of national security, but can creep in through social media, financial accounts and personal networks. Prosecutors said that hostile foreign forces might already be using mechanisms such as cryptocurrency, bank accounts and traffic-based settlements to influence political content and obtain military intelligence.

  If Taiwan allows media funding flows to remain opaque, it risks leaving a critical gap in its national security unattended, creating space for “red money.”

  Steve Ho is a retired engineer.

  Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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