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.
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