The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.
MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare.
Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.”
Photo: screen grab from the Legislative Yuan livestream
He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency, which said that Shen is under investigation by the Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau on allegations of “secession-related” criminal activities, including launching a civil defense organization called Kuma Academy.
The investigation is being carried out under the terms of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China and a set of judicial guidelines on how to penalize “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Xinhua report said.
The government on Thursday last week said that such actions by China are meant to “create the illusion of long-arm jurisdiction over Taiwan.”
Shen yesterday told Chiu that he cited his case not to draw attention to himself, but to Chinese tactics targeting civil servants that might soon be used to deal with Taiwanese in general.
Chiu said that China is increasing its suppression of Taiwan through a combination of lawfare and cognitive warfare, adding that both the government and the public should collectively condemn such moves that are intended to intimidate and divide Taiwan.
Many Taiwanese have been reported to be missing or interrogated by Chinese officials, as well as others with whom contact has been lost, with the number of Taiwanese detained by the Chinese government because of legal affairs rising to 178 so far this year from 55 last year.
“While political figures, military personnel or prosecutors might be more psychologically resilient to Chinese threats, ordinary citizens might be more vulnerable,” Chiu said.
He urged all sectors of society to recognize this, unite, and collectively resist and condemn China’s cross-border suppression.
The MAC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will report significant cases of Chinese cross-border suppression against Taiwan to the international community, he said.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said China has no judicial jurisdiction over Taiwan, making its claims over Taiwan baseless.
“International human rights or political organizations should know that China is attempting to impose long-arm jurisdiction over a neighboring nation, using fabricated charges to influence personal freedoms,” Cho said.
The global community should understand that this authoritarian state fails completely in terms of human rights, regardless of its economic or military power, he added.
Additional reporting by CNA
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
RSS