The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday.
In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies.
Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information from Taiwan’s government, the report said.
Photo: Reuters
The bureau said it hoped that the report would help Taiwanese to better understand the CCP’s espionage operations in Taiwan.
The majority of people targeted by the CCP for recruitment are current or retired military personnel, it said.
Of the 64 spies prosecuted last year, 15 were retired military personnel, accounting for 23 percent of the total, while 28 were active personnel (43 percent of the total), it said.
Giving an example of how the CCP coerces military personnel, the report cited the case of one-star general Lo Hsien-che (羅賢哲), who was caught in a honey trap scheme while stationed in Thailand and later leaked military secrets to Chinese officials in exchange for payment.
The CCP infiltrates Taiwan through engagement with local gangs, illegal private money lenders, shell companies, religious groups and nonprofit organizations, the report said.
The CCP seeks operatives in Taiwan by building network connections, using financial incentives, coercing people with debt, and infiltrating military, government and civil society organizations, it said, adding that China also tries to interfere with elections in Taiwan.
The NSB said it has found evidence that gangs recruited by the CCP were asked to raise Chinese flags and engage in armed insurrection in the event of an attempted invasion by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
The insurrection plans called for trained snipers in Taiwan to attack members of the military and foreign organizations, the report said.
It also called for military personnel to fly helicopters to China to surrender during an invasion and to hand over Taiwan’s defense plans to the CCP ahead of such an invasion, it said.
The CCP pays recruits by transferring money through digital payment services or using cryptocurrencies, making payments hard to trace, the report said.
The NSB has established a mechanism for cooperation across the bureau, military and investigative agencies to address Chinese espionage, it said.
Prosecutions and conviction rates of spies have increased, and last year, investigators cracked a spy ring involving 23 people and sentenced one spy to 20 years of imprisonment, the report said.
The detection of espionage has been helped in the past few years by clues provided by military officers and soldiers, and the public, which showed that public awareness of security issues has greatly increased, it added.
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
DETERMINATION: Beijing’s actions toward Tokyo have drawn international attention, but would likely bolster regional coordination and defense networks, the report said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is likely to prioritize security reforms and deterrence in the face of recent “hybrid” threats from China, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said. The bureau made the assessment in a written report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of an oral report and questions-and-answers session at the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The key points of Japan’s security reforms would be to reinforce security cooperation with the US, including enhancing defense deployment in the first island chain, pushing forward the integrated command and operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and US Forces Japan, as
INTERCEPTION: The 30km test ceiling shows that the CSIST is capable of producing missiles that could stop inbound missiles as they re-enter the atmosphere Recent missile tests by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST) show that Taiwan’s missiles are capable of intercepting ballistic missiles as they re-enter the atmosphere and pose a significant deterrent to Chinese missile threats, former Hsiung Feng III missile development project chief engineer Chang Cheng (張誠) said yesterday. The military-affiliated institute has been conducting missile tests, believed to be related to Project Chiang Kung (強弓) at Pingtung County’s Jiupeng Military Base, with many tests deviating from past practices of setting restriction zones at “unlimited” and instead clearly stating a 30.48km range, Chang said. “Unlimited” restrictions zones for missile tests is
PUBLIC SAFETY: The nationwide distribution campaign aims to enhance society’s overall understanding of threats and bolster defense awareness, an official said The latest edition of the National Public Safety Guide is being mailed to all citizens starting today to foster public awareness of self-defense in the event of war or natural disasters, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. “The guides will be disseminated to the public to enhance society’s overall understanding of threats and bolster defense awareness, demonstrating the government’s emphasis on people’s safety and its determination to pursue self-defense,” All-out Defense Mobilization Agency Director Shen Wei-chih (沈威志) said at the ministry’s news conference. The nationwide distribution campaign was planned according to President Lai William’s (賴清德) Sept. 20 directive, he said, adding
RSS