An online rumor that National Security Bureau Director-General Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) visited Thailand at taxpayers’ expense in July is “classic cognitive warfare” intended to signal to foreign officials that their whereabouts in Thailand are known to China, a national security official said on Saturday.
The rumor originated from a Twitter message posted on Monday last week by the account “somchai” (@andreny45652235), claiming that Chen took a sightseeing trip to Thailand at public expense.
As proof, the user posted a photograph of Chen allegedly taken at Thai customs, as well as screenshots of a customs clearance spreadsheet and a hotel bill.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The post was also shared on Facebook, including the popular group Baoliao Commune.
The bureau the same day said details of the post were incorrect, although it did not specify whether Chen visited Thailand.
“The activities of bureau officials as a matter of course are not shared with the public,” it said.
The Twitter account was created only last month and posted six messages before being taken down, a national security official said on condition of anonymity.
The incident played out as “classic cognitive warfare from overseas,” they said.
The account posted unverified photographs designed to instigate public debate and urged viewers to “see for yourself,” the official said.
The post was then shared on different social media platforms by collaborators and rewritten into news stories, ensuring that the false narrative makes the switch from online to offline to expand its sphere of influence, they said.
If true, it reveals the extent to which Chinese agents have infiltrated security systems in Thailand, they said, adding that the post intentionally includes information from multiple sources to convey its reach.
Apart from attempting to cast doubt on the abilities of Taiwan’s national security apparatus, the post also intends to send a message to officials from other countries that China might be aware of the details of their trips to Thailand, the official said.
As for the purpose of Chen’s alleged visit, the official said that Thailand has always been an important international center for intelligence.
Distrust of Beijing has deepened among other countries in the region over the past few months, and consequently boosting security ties and cooperation has become an urgent matter, they added.
Additional reporting by Aaron Tu
Three cases of Candida auris, a fungus that can cause a yeast infection known as candidiasis in humans, have been reported in Taiwan over the past few years, but they did not display drug resistance, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said yesterday. Lo made the statement at a news conference in Taipei, one day after the Washington Post reported that the potentially deadly fungus is spreading in US hospitals. The fungus was first discovered in Japan in 2009 and poses a danger to immunocompromised people, with an estimated mortality rate of 30 to 60 percent, Lo
SWITCH TO BEIJING: The government severed diplomatic relations about an hour after Honduras announced the move, saying that no semi-official ties would be maintained Taiwan severed diplomatic ties with Honduras and ended all cooperation with the Central American country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, about an hour and a half after the Honduran Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Twitter at 8am Taiwan time that the nation would cut its ties with Taiwan. Honduran President Xiomara Castro on Wednesday sent Honduran Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduardo Enrique Reina to Beijing to negotiate the establishment of diplomatic relations. She announced the plan on March 14 on Twitter. “To safeguard Taiwan’s sovereignty and dignity, Taiwan is terminating diplomatic ties with Honduras with immediate effect” after communication with
MEDIA, SOCIETY FOCUS: Doublethink Lab said that Beijing is trying to coerce countries that rely on China economically to pursue policies in its favor China has stronger influence over Taiwan’s media and society than any other country, the Taipei-based Doublethink Lab think tank said yesterday, as it announced its China Index gauging Beijing’s global influence. Taiwan ranked 11th overall among 82 countries assessed, but first in terms of social and media influence, Doublethink Lab chairman Puma Shen (沈伯洋) told a news conference in Taipei. More than 200 experts and academics participated in the project, including some highly influential figures, Shen said. The index collects information from countries worldwide to gauge China’s influence and assess how Chinese policies affect them, Shen said. In terms of Chinese
TRADE MISSION: After Fijian elections in December last year, pro-democratic parties formed a coalition and overruled a name change imposed by the former government The Taipei Trade Office in Fiji has been restored to its former name, the Trade Mission of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the Republic of Fiji, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. Fiji on Friday last week issued a note verbale to the office saying that the name change was retroactively effective from March 15, Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Director-General Wallace Chow (周民淦) told a news conference in Taipei. The mission’s diplomatic privileges have been reinstated as stipulated in Fiji’s Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities Act, which was enacted in 1971, Chow said. Taiwan set up a trade