Taiwan maintains “real-time” intelligence sharing with the Five Eyes alliance of the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday.
Tsai made the remark during a legislative session in Taipei after a lawmaker asked if Taiwan had such exchanges with the group.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Charles Chen (陳以信) said he had discovered that the NSB had been upgrading its computer equipment last year and this year “to the level of those used by intelligence units in foreign countries.”
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Chen asked Tsai if the upgrades could help Taiwan better connect to the Five Eyes.
The bureau had allocated funds to establish an “instant online reporting and communication mechanism” with foreign nations, Tsai said.
Chen asked if the upgrade would enable the bureau to share and receive intelligence from the Five Eyes alliance.
Tsai said that the NSB would do so via “a secure and encrypted system.”
Chen asked if the bureau was already sharing intelligence with the Five Eyes, to which Tsai said: “Yes, and in real time,” without elaborating.
Tsai reported to lawmakers what measures the bureau was taking to prepare for next year’s presidential and legislative elections, including its efforts to counter anticipated efforts by China to interfere in the vote.
Asked whether the NSB has a response to China’s attempts to expand its sphere of influence abroad, Tsai said that if a case arises that is strong enough to be prosecuted, it would be handled by the appropriate agency.
However, China’s tactics differ in Taiwan from other places such as the US and Europe, he added.
Beijing has allegedly established secret overseas “police stations” that US and other nations believe are tasked with collecting information on people who criticize the Chinese Communist Party.
Beijing denies the allegations.
Cases of Taiwanese being detained in China have also come to light recently, including reporters filming Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises earlier this month and Gusa Press (八旗文化) editor-in-chief Li Yanhe (李延賀), also known ask Fucha (富察), who was detained in Shanghai last month.
Lawmakers also expressed concern that Beijing has stepped up its monitoring of and threats toward Chinese living in Taiwan.
Beijing would not dare set up one of its “police stations” in Taiwan, but it could work through third parties to monitor or manipulate Chinese and their partners, as well as Taiwanese with businesses in China, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said.
Tsai said there is no doubt that this is happening, but the bureau can only keep close watch for any contraventions of the law.
If any are found, it would transfer the case to prosecutors, he said, adding that there are some cases being investigated.
The bureau’s role is to collect and share intelligence with other agencies about potential Chinese interference, he said.
This is different from how China operates in other countries, where it can set up physical workstations or travel agencies, he added.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to