Taiwan yesterday denied Chinese allegations that its military was behind a cyberattack on a technology company in Guangzhou, after city authorities issued warrants for 20 suspects.
The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau earlier yesterday issued warrants for 20 people it identified as members of the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM).
The bureau alleged they were behind a May 20 cyberattack targeting the backend system of a self-service facility at the company.
Photo courtesy of the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau
“ICEFCOM, under Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, directed the illegal attack,” the warrant says.
The bureau placed a bounty of 10,000 yuan (US$1,392) on each of the 20 people named in the warrant, which also listed their national identification card numbers.
On May 20, the bureau said “hackers” were behind the alleged attack, a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency said.
ICEFCOM yesterday said the bureau’s accusation that it had conducted a cyberattack against a Guangzhou-based company was unfounded and an act of “slander.”
The false accusations on May 20 and Tuesday last week were widely reported by China’s state-run media and later echoed by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, ICEFCOM said in a statement.
The propaganda campaign escalated, culminating in yesterday’s warrant, which it described as a deliberate attempt to unsettle and intimidate the Taiwanese public, it said.
China also poses a global threat to cyberspace, ICEFCOM said, citing recent statements from the Czech Republic and the EU condemning China’s “malicious cybercampaign,” and reports naming the Chinese Communist Party as a suspect in hacking and information security risks.
ICEFCOM spokesman Colonel Hu Chin-lung (胡錦龍) said that most of the people named in the warrant have retired from the military.
Some of the photographs shown by the bureau appeared to be quite old, he added.
“Some of the photos look like headshots taken during high-school training programs,” Hu said. “They might have been obtained from a third-party educational institution.”
Asked about Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Jessica Chen’s (陳玉珍) suggestion that the bureau’s possession of the individuals’ national ID numbers could indicate a data breach by China, Hu said no military databases containing that information had been compromised.
ICEFCOM is investigating how the bureau obtained the information, he said, adding that a major leak of National Health Insurance data between 2009 and 2022 could be a possible source.
China posted the bounty because it wanted to create the impression that it can exercise long-arm jurisdiction over Taiwan, with the aim of forcing Taiwanese to censor themselves and producing a chilling effect, Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said.
However, Taiwanese who cooperate with China by offering tips about these individuals could contravene the National Security Act (國家安全法), Liang said, adding that people should not risk breaking the law for 10,000 yuan.
Additional reporting by Shelley Shan
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
AMENDMENT: Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of high-temperature days, affecting economic productivity and public health, experts said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) is considering amending the Meteorological Act (氣象法) to classify “high temperatures” as “hazardous weather,” providing a legal basis for work or school closures due to extreme heat. CWA Administrator Lu Kuo-chen (呂國臣) yesterday said the agency plans to submit the proposed amendments to the Executive Yuan for review in the fourth quarter this year. The CWA has been monitoring high-temperature trends for an extended period, and the agency contributes scientific data to the recently established High Temperature Response Alliance led by the Ministry of Environment, Lu said. The data include temperature, humidity, radiation intensity and ambient wind,
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist
RSS