China’s cognitive warfare tactics against Taiwan include spreading anti-US and anti-Japan messages to wear down Taiwanese’s psychological defenses, an information warfare expert said yesterday.
Shen Pao-yang (沈伯洋), an assistant professor at National Taipei University’s Graduate School of Criminology, made the remark at a forum on online information warfare and national security at the university’s GIS Convention Center.
Most young Taiwanese do not take a pro-China stance, so rather than sending pro-China messages, Beijing has turned its focus on directing Taiwanese’s mistrust at the US, he said.
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
Unlike Ukraine, which has quickly identified “fifth column” units embedded in the country, Taiwan might not be able to do so if a war were to break out with China, he said.
Fifth column infiltrators and local collaborators could cause great harm during a war by spreading disinformation, he added.
Taiwanese’s psychological defenses are the most important factor to consider while making assumptions about a war, Shen said, adding that many Taiwanese have said they might surrender in the event of a war with China, which would leave other countries powerless even if they wanted to help Taiwan.
Shen said he used to advocate for exposing such cognitive warfare tactics, but they can only be exposed through judicial investigations, which require legal grounds.
A new mechanism is needed, as the Criminal Investigation Bureau can only pursue tax evasion charges or launch investigations based on the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法), which might only have an indirect connection with a case, he said.
Shen said he often hears young people saying they would like to receive information from various sources, including China, Japan and the US, before making a judgement while maintaining a neutral stance.
He said the “neutral stance” points to a lack of awareness of the enemy, adding that exposing China’s tactics would be ineffective if such awareness and psychological defenses are not developed first.
He and his friends have been criticized for promoting an “all-out defense,” yet China is most afraid of Taiwanese building defensive awareness, he said.
Academia Sinica academician and former National Security Council adviser Lee Der-tsai (李德財) told the event that Chinese sources have spread a false report that Taiwanese were celebrating the assassination of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, to sow animosity between Taiwan and Japan, and create social discord in Taiwan.
Taiwan must be prepared for such operations and “boost its immunity against misinformation,” he added.
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
RSS