The National Security Bureau (NSB) yesterday said that it has begun planning early to counter Chinese interference in next year’s nine-in-one elections as its intelligence shows that Beijing might intensify its tactics, while warning of continued efforts to infiltrate the government and military.
The bureau submitted a report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of a meeting today of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.
“We will research situations in different localities and keep track of abnormalities to ensure that next year’s elections proceed without disruption,” the bureau said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Although the project is generally launched during election years, reports of alleged Chinese interference throughout the campaign for the elections last year might have prompted officials to begin planning earlier this year.
NSB Deputy Director Hsu Hsi-hsiang (徐錫祥) said in a legislative session in October 2023 that there were five foreign interference operations during the campaign for the local elections in 2022.
Taiwan’s prosecutors’ offices recorded 115 cases of alleged foreign interference in the presidential election campaign from August 2023 to Dec. 13 last year, including borough wardens recruiting residents to join trips to China paid by the Chinese government.
The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office also noted a significant increase in cases of foreign interference during last year’s elections compared with 2022.
The cases included Chinese organizations providing financial or material assistance to specific groups in Taiwan through local collaborators or illicit remittance networks, and Chinese entities sponsoring Taiwanese voters’ trips to China for hospitality and vote-buying purposes, the office said.
The Ministry of Justice has also identified ways for Beijing to funnel funds or resources to candidates that it supports, such as donating funds or virtual currencies through China-based Taiwanese businesspeople or charities run by Taiwanese temples.
China also helps build momentum for certain candidates by recruiting online influencers, the ministry said.
Beijing’s strategy last year was to frame the presidential election as a choice between war and peace by first accusing then-presidential candidate William Lai (賴清德) of being a troublemaker and subsequently dispatching Chinese aircraft to Taiwan’s airspace to create an atmosphere of imminent cross-strait conflict, the Mainland Affairs Council said.
Prior to the election, China expanded its economic pressure by banning imports of Taiwanese agricultural and fishery products, while allowing imports of agricultural products from counties governed by China-friendly commissioners.
It unilaterally launched investigations into Taiwan’s “trade barriers” and even threatened to terminate the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, which was negotiated by the administration of former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
The bureau today also plans to inform lawmakers about China’s efforts to infiltrate the government and military, by recruiting military personnel on active duty, luring them with monetary gains and pressing them to pay back loans.
As of last month, 24 people had been indicted on espionage charges, 13 of whom were military personnel, the bureau said in the report.
Beijing has persisted in its efforts to collect the personal data of Taiwanese by encouraging them to study in China, and join the Chinese social welfare and healthcare systems, the report said.
It has produced short online videos to attract young Taiwanese to join sports competitions and do internships in China, and waived the application fees for the Taiwan Compatriot Travel Permit for first-time visitors, the report said.
China further sought to have more Taiwanese identify with the Chinese regime by hosting a big celebration of the 80th anniversary of victory in the Sino-Japan war, from organizing summer camps and inviting Taiwanese journalists to cover the events to arranging for Taiwanese visitors to historic sites, the report said.
To minimize the repercussions of US tariffs, Beijing has offered more incentives for Taiwanese businesses to invest in the artificial intelligence, renewable energy and semiconductor sectors in China, the report said.
The bureau’s report also laid out the economic risks facing China.
Chinese revenue generated by exports to the US fell by US$69.6 billion as of last month after the US tariff scheme took effect in April, the report said.
While Beijing sought to avoid tariffs by exporting its goods to ASEAN countries, the transshipment trade revenue was harmed by a 40 percent transshipment duty that the US imposed in August, the report said.
From January to August, investment in China slowed to 0.5 percent, marking the lowest level for the same period since 2020.
Private-sector and real-estate investment declined by 2.3 percent and 12.9 percent year-on-year respectively, indicating weak domestic demand, the report said.
Data collected by Freedom House showed that 3,963 protest incidents were reported in China from January to last month, a 63 percent increase compared with the same period last year, the report said, adding that they were primarily related to wage arrears (44 percent) and unfinished property projects (27 percent).
Chinese data also show that the youth unemployment rate in August reached 18.9 percent, the highest since December 2023.
Labor disputes have exacerbated since the Chinese government mandated that companies and employees contribute to social insurance, which took effect last month.
Small and medium-sized enterprises are struggling to bear the associated costs, leading them to reduce salaries or lay off workers to cut costs.
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