The Ministry of Justice has become aware of “external forces” paying Internet streamers to make false statements in an attempt to influence November’s nine-in-one elections, Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥) said yesterday.
Tsai made the remarks in an interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper), the contents of which were aired yesterday.
The ministry is continuing to monitor such behavior and would strive to combat cognitive warfare tactics, he said.
Photo: screen grab from Guan Wo Shenme Shi
Attempts to influence Taiwanese politics by giving Internet personalities and streamers money and having them spread false information is a new tactic, Tsai said.
“External forces have been known to use a variety of methods to influence Taiwanese politics,” such as subsidizing a particular group or candidate through Taiwanese businesspeople, or exerting influence over local temples to have them persuade local residents to vote for certain candidates, he said.
Other methods have involved Chinese spouses in Taiwan and underground banking institutions offering voters all-expenses-paid trips to China, he added.
Tsai said that he places great emphasis on national security and because of this, he has arranged for prosecutors to attend seminars by national security experts so that they can prosecute cases involving national security issues based on what is best for protecting Taiwan.
The ministry has also drafted an amendment to the National Security Act (國家安全法) that would send criminal cases involving people or organizations nominally controlled by a foreign power, China, Hong Kong or Macau straight to the second appellate court, Tsai said.
The amendment would also make corporate espionage a criminal act, as well as leaking the nation’s core technological secrets to foreign assets, he said.
The technology sector is an important asset for Taiwan and crucial to its national security, he added.
While local elections have always been the most prone to corruption, modern technology can spread false information swiftly, an issue the ministry must seek to control, Tsai said.
“We aren’t ruling out the possibility of external forces utilizing modern technology, such as e-wallets and blockchain technology, to facilitate such payments,” he said, adding that the ministry would also be monitoring the spread of false information and nip it in the bud.
FORCED LABOR: A US court listed three Taiwanese and nine firms based in Taiwan in its indictment, with eight of the companies registered at the same address Nine companies registered in Taiwan, as well as three Taiwanese, on Tuesday were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) as a result of a US federal court indictment. The indictment unsealed at the federal court in Brooklyn, New York, said that Chen Zhi (陳志), a dual Cambodian-British national, is being indicted for fraud conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding Group’s forced-labor scam camps in Cambodia. At its peak, the company allegedly made US$30 million per day, court documents showed. The US government has seized Chen’s noncustodial wallet, which contains
SUPPLY CHAIN: Taiwan’s advantages in the drone industry include rapid production capacity that is independent of Chinese-made parts, the economic ministry said The Executive Yuan yesterday approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion (US$1.44 billion) into domestic production of uncrewed aerial vehicles over the next six years, bringing Taiwan’s output value to more than NT$40 billion by 2030 and making the nation Asia’s democratic hub for the drone supply chain. The proposed budget has NT$33.8 billion in new allocations and NT$10.43 billion in existing funds, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Under the new development program, the public sector would purchase nearly 100,000 drones, of which 50,898 would be for civil and government use, while 48,750 would be for national defense, it said. The Ministry of
SENATE RECOMMENDATION: The National Defense Authorization Act encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s navy to participate in the exercises in Hawaii The US Senate on Thursday last week passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026, which strongly encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s naval forces to participate in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, as well as allocating military aid of US$1 billion for Taiwan. The bill, which authorizes appropriations for the military activities of the US Department of Defense, military construction and other purposes, passed with 77 votes in support and 20 against. While the NDAA authorizes about US$925 billion of defense spending, the Central News Agency yesterday reported that an aide of US
NINE-IN-ONE ELECTIONS: Prosecutors’ offices recorded 115 cases of alleged foreign interference in the presidential election campaign from August 2023 to Dec. 13 last year The National Security Bureau (NSB) yesterday said that it has begun planning early to counter Chinese interference in next year’s nine-in-one elections as its intelligence shows that Beijing might intensify its tactics, while warning of continued efforts to infiltrate the government and military. The bureau submitted a report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of a meeting today of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee. “We will research situations in different localities and keep track of abnormalities to ensure that next year’s elections proceed without disruption,” the bureau said. Although the project is generally launched during election years, reports of alleged Chinese interference
RSS