Internet rumors that the government wiretapped thousands of people are untrue and part of malignant foreign forces conducting cognitive warfare, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday, adding that it has instructed the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office to investigate.
A post on online platform Baoliao Commune (爆料公社), showed apparently false information that it “purchased on the dark net” about politicians and others who had engaged in improper wiretapping, including the office in charge, time and officials’ names.
No personal identifiers of people who might have been the target of a wiretap could be garnered from the post, which apparently had been tampered with, the Criminal Investigation Division said.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau said that similar false information had been circulated online in 2021, which also showed evidence of having been doctored.
The information was sourced from foreign servers, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office said, adding that an initial investigation showed it used simplified Chinese characters, the Gregorian calendar, and made-up titles and telephone numbers.
This is evidently an attempt by foreign forces to mislead Taiwanese and cause internal conflict, it said, urging people to dismiss rumors and refrain from spreading misinformation.
Separately, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presented documents alleging that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) acceded to US demands to allow imports of US pork containing residual ractopamine.
However, the concession was insufficient to have Taiwan included as a founding member of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, the KMT said.
Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) countered that Taiwan-US ties are on the right track and the KMT was “pulling the government’s leg.”
Even if the documents were accurate, the channels of their procurement should be investigated, Cheng said.
The Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations said that despite Taiwan’s inability to join the trade pact, the government has made significant progress with the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade and efforts to avoid double taxation.
Minister of the Interior Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said that the public should gauge the authenticity of information and seek to verify their sources, as misinformation is rife in the run-up to elections.
The DPP said that forces seek to undermine the government’s credibility and goad political parties into outright confrontation as voting day draws near.
DPP Legislator Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said that the party has continuously warned the public about efforts to undermine the government’s credibility and sow discord.
Chuang said he believes the public would not easily be tricked.
Prosecutors should look into reports of former and serving borough wardens, and organization leaders going on free visits to China, he said.
Borough wardens should refrain from contravening the law for minor gains, he added.
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
North Korea yesterday fired about 10 ballistic missiles to the sea toward Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over ongoing South Korea-US military drills. Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce.” Seoul’s military detected “around 10 ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea [Sea of Japan] at around 1:20pm,” JCS said in a statement, referring to South Korea’s name for the body of water. The missiles
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance. Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the aftermath of major disasters. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed more than 19,000 lives, according to data from Japanese authorities. Following the disaster, Taiwan donated more than US$240 million in aid, making it one of the largest contributors of financial assistance to Japan. In addition to cash donations and
CLOSER TO CHINA: The upgraded Type-12 missile has a range of about 1,000km, compared with the original model’s range of 200km, and can reach mainland China Japan is preparing to deploy its first batch of domestically developed long-range missiles, with their launchers arriving at an army camp yesterday, as the country accelerates its offensive capability in response to rising challenges in the region. The upgraded Type-12 land-to-ship missiles are to be deployed at Camp Kengun in Japan’s southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto by the end of this month, completing the process of deployment, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said without giving details. Army vehicles carrying the launchers and other equipment arrived past midnight in a highly secretive mission criticized by residents. Dozens of people stood outside of the
RSS