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
‘UNFRIENDLY’: Changing the nationality listing of Taiwanese residents to ‘China’ goes against EU foreign policy as well as democratic and human rights principles, MOFA said Taiwan yesterday called on Denmark to correct its designation of the nationality of Taiwanese residents as “China” or face retaliatory measures. The Danish government in 2024 changed the nationality of Taiwanese citizens on their residence permits from “Taiwan” to “China.” The decision goes against EU foreign policy and contravenes democratic and human rights principles, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said. Denmark should present a solution acceptable to Taiwan as soon as possible and correct the erroneous designation to preserve the longstanding friendship between the two nations, Hsiao said. The issue could damage Denmark’s image and business reputation in Taiwan,
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Cho made the remarks during a visit to the facilities of Cub Elecparts Inc (為升電裝). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝依鳳) also participated in the trip. Cub Elecparts has transitioned from the automotive industry to the defense industry, which is the top priority among the nation’s
SUFFICIENT: The president said Taiwan has enough oil for next month, with reserves covering more than 100 days and natural gas enough for 12 to 14 days A restart plan for the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) would be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Commission by the end of the month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, reversing the government’s policy to abolish nuclear energy. On May 17 last year, Taiwan shut down its last nuclear reactor and became the first non-nuclear nation in East Asia, fulfilling the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s pledge of a “nuclear-free homeland.” Even without nuclear power, Taiwan can maintain a stable electricity supply until 2032,
DEROGATORY: WTO host Cameroon’s designation of Taiwan as a ‘province of China’ seriously undermines the nation’s status and rights as a WTO member, MOFA said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned Cameroon for listing Taiwan as “Taiwan, Province of China” in visa documents for an upcoming WTO ministerial conference, a move that led to Taiwan’s withdrawal from the event. The designation “seriously undermined” Taiwan’s status and rights as a WTO member, the ministry said in a statement. It is the first time since 2001 that Taiwan has declined to attend a WTO Ministerial Conference. The conference is scheduled to take place from Thursday to Sunday next week in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. Taiwan had planned to send a delegation led by Minister Without Portfolio
RSS