Offices tasked with combating cyberthreats are to be established in Taiwan’s six special municipalities, judicial authorities said on Wednesday amid reports that China has been using artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital tools to manipulate public opinion ahead of the presidential and legislative elections in January next year.
The dissemination of false reports and disinformation online, most of it originating outside of Taiwan, has intensified with the intention of meddling in the elections, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement.
To ensure fairness and public trust in the election process, head prosecutors in the six special municipalities — Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung — would take charge of the centers, which would boost efforts to counter election disinformation, and other online efforts to improperly influence political and societal issues, Prosecutor-General Hsing Tai-chao (邢泰釗) said at a workshop organized by the prosecutors’ offices of New Taipei City and Taoyuan.
Photo courtesy of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, which is headed by Kao Yi-shu (高一書), would handle major incidents of disinformation, Hsing said.
The six centers would have prosecutorial and indictment powers based on amendments passed this year to the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), the statement said.
Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥), Investigation Bureau Director Wang Jyun-li (王俊力) and top officials from the Agency Against Corruption, the National Police Agency and the National Immigration Agency also attended the workshop.
The maximum reward for information leading to a conviction for election interference has been increased to NT$20 million (US$626,763), the statement said, adding that people who have information on possible vote-buying activities, unusual flows of money or illegal betting on election outcomes should contact the offices.
Activity by foreign agents to interfere in election campaigns or affect voters should also be reported, it said.
“We know that hostile foreign nations and organizations controlled by them have sought to meddle in Taiwan’s elections,” Tsai said.
“Investigators have found many sites that contravene election rules, spread disinformation or attempt to manipulate the media,” he said. “Although they often have foreign IP addresses, the law must be applied and evidence must be gathered to combat their influence.”
“The most effective way to prevent vote-buying and illegal cashflows from affecting elections is to take action at the local level and initiate probles,” he said. “Illegal funds, vote-buying and intimidation tactics have already been seen in the run-up to next year’s elections.”
Prosecutors said evidence showed that a post on social media of a former lawmaker talking about possible cooperation between political parties was AI-generated.
The International Industrial Talents Education Special (INTENSE) Program to attract foreigners to study and work in Taiwan will provide scholarships and a living allowance of up to NT$440,000 per person for two years beginning in August, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) told a meeting of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee yesterday. Pan was giving an update on the program’s implementation, a review of universities’ efforts to recruit international students and promotion of the Taiwan Huayu Bilingual Exchanges of Selected Talent (BEST) program. Each INTENSE Program student would be awarded a scholarship of up to NT$100,000 per year for up to
BASIC OPERATIONS: About half a dozen navy ships from both countries took part in the days-long exercise based on the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea An unpublicized joint military exercise between Taiwan and the US in the Pacific Ocean last month was carried out in accordance with an international code, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday. According to a Reuters report citing four unnamed sources, the two nations’ navies last month conducted joint drills in the Western Pacific. The drills were not made public at the time, but “about half-a-dozen navy ships from both sides, including frigates and supply and support vessels, participated in the days-long exercises,” Reuters reported, citing the sources. The drills were designed to practice “basic” operations such as communications, refueling and resupplies,
‘MONEY PIT’: The KMT’s more than NT$2 trillion infrastructure project proposals for eastern Taiwan lack professional input and financial transparency, the DPP said The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday said it would ask the Executive Yuan to raise a motion to oppose the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus’ infrastructure proposals and prepare to file for a constitutional interpretation if the KMT-dominated legislature forces their passage. The DPP caucus described the three infrastructure plans for transportation links to eastern Taiwan proposed by the KMT as “three money pit projects” that would cost more than NT$2 trillion (US$61.72 billion). It would ask the Executive Yuan to oppose public projects that would drain state financial resources, DPP caucus secretary-general Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said. It would also file for
SELF-SUFFICIENCY: The project would only be the beginning, as Taiwan needs at least 120 satellites to ensure uninterrupted communication, Wu Tsung-tsong said The Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) yesterday said it plans to launch six low Earth orbit satellites starting in 2026 as part of the government’s plan to boost the resilience of the nation’s communications. The development of the technology gained attention after Ukrainians were able to access the Internet through Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) CEO Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite service, despite their infrastructure being severely damaged in the war with Russia. Two of the satellites would be built by the government, while four would involve cooperation between TASA and private contractors. “Over the past 30 years, the satellite technology in Taiwan has