The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) yesterday said it has seized NT$11.5 billion (US$354.6 million) in illegal remittances, as it warned that foreign actors are using remote funding, Internet betting and cognitive warfare to influence next year’s presidential and legislative elections.
Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥) told a meeting of the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statues Committee that the ministry had conducted joint operations with the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office from July 3 to July 12 and from Sept. 20 to Sept. 26, targeting underworld banking operators to cut off cash flows funding illicit activities within the nation’s borders.
The ministry detailed how offshore funding is being used, including making donations to candidates via Taiwanese businesspeople, contributing to temple charity events, using dummy accounts to “like” specific candidates’ posts and funneling funds to candidates through unregistered banks or cryptocurrency.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
The MJIB is also to step up efforts to monitor Chinese coming to Taiwan on the pretext of “social interaction,” but who might be involved in attempts to influence the Jan. 13 elections or to conduct illegal activities, Tsai said.
When appropriate or necessary, it would launch investigations against individuals to deter foreign actors from using offshore funding to influence Taiwan’s political and financial activities, he added.
Separately, National Security Bureau (NSB) Deputy Director-General Hsu Hsi-hsiang (徐錫祥) yesterday said that the bureau is prepared to combat the use of deepfake technology by foreign actors to influence the elections.
The NSB has initiated a special project that incorporates other national security agencies to help affected ministries or agencies in issuing news releases to clarify the government’s stance and policies, Hsu said.
In addition, it is to train about 220 people to safeguard the presidential and vice presidential candidates, it said.
The teams would be assigned to the candidates once the registration process officially concludes on Nov. 24.
The NSB said it has included in its budget 220 bulletproof vests this year, along with 12 custom-made bulletproof vests and briefcases for the candidates and their running mates.
On Wednesday, the Central Election Commission (CEC) gave a demonstration of operations on the day of the elections, emphasizing the importance of polling station workers being able to handle emergencies.
The demonstration in Tainan covered the process for verifying a voter’s identity and casting ballots, as well as vote counting and how to respond in certain scenarios, such as a fire or the discovery of a suspicious package.
The ability of polling station workers to deal with unexpected situations is particularly important given the increasing competitiveness of election campaigns, CEC Chairperson Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) told city and county officials attending the demonstration.
The spread of false information and attacks from hostile foreign forces also mean that polling station workers need to strictly adhere to laws and regulations to avoid potential disputes, Lee said.
Local police also took part in Wednesday’s demonstration showing how to handle a range of situations, including individuals breaking the law by taking photographs or video recording voters within 30m of a polling station or leaving threatening notes in the station.
Additional reporting by CNA
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
UNWAVERING: Paraguay remains steadfast in its support of Taiwan, but is facing growing pressure at home and abroad to switch recognition to Beijing, Pena said Paraguayan President Santiago Pena has pledged to continue enhancing cooperation with Taiwan, as he and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait using force, Japanese media reported on Saturday. Kishida yesterday completed a trip to France, Brazil and Paraguay, his first visit to South America since taking office in 2021. After the Japanese leader and Pena spoke for more than an hour on Friday, exchanging views on the situation in East Asia in the face of China’s increasing military pressure on Taiwan, they affirmed that “unilateral attempts to change the