Theaters and institutions in Taiwan have received 28 threatening e-mails, including bomb threats, since a documentary critical of China began being screened across the nation last month, the National Security Bureau said yesterday.
The actions are part of China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said.
State Organs (國有器官) documents allegations that Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities.
Photo: Taipei Times
From last month to Friday last week, 28 incidents have been reported of theaters or institutions receiving threats, including bomb and shooting threats, if they did not stop showing the documentary, the bureau said.
Although the threats were not carried out, police enhanced their security presence around movie theaters, it said.
They include theaters such as Showtime Cinemas in Taipei’s Nangang District (南港), as well as public entities such as the Kaohsiung City Council and Ministry of Culture, it said.
Kaohsiung reported receiving the most threats at seven incidents, followed by Taipei, New Taipei City and Yilan County each reporting three cases.
Preliminary investigations into the origins of the e-mails have found that eight were sent from France, followed by five each from the US and China, and two each from Germany, Hong Kong and the UK, the bureau said.
Threats have also been received from Thailand, Vietnam, Turkey, Japan, Spain and Russia, suggesting that the criminals are using virtual private networks to hide their origins, it added.
The threats are part of a larger strategy by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to interfere with all levels of Taiwan’s society, the bureau said.
China is attempting to expand its jurisdiction by pressuring Taiwan’s domestic affairs, imposing its national security and “anti-secession” laws on Taiwanese, and utilizing intelligence networks abroad to target individuals, it said.
The bureau vowed to continue to closely monitor the CCP’s cyberintimidation attempts against Taiwanese, bolster domestic security and keep the public informed.
It also said it would seek to build up its international intelligence cooperation as well as domestic security initiatives to confront the CCP’s attempts at isolating and diminishing Taiwan.
The bureau said it has submitted a written report to the legislature, and the body’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee is today scheduled to hear a report on “The difficulties of screening State Organs in Taiwan, China’s long-arm jurisdiction strategy toward Taiwan and Taiwan’s response” today.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
RSS