Authorities in southern China have offered an undisclosed bounty for more than 20 people they say are linked to Taiwan and suspected of cyberattacks in China, the official Xinhua news agency said, accusations that Taipei denied.
The public security bureau in the Chinese city of Guangzhou put up a bounty for the suspects, Xinhua reported, publishing their photographs, names and national ID numbers.
A bounty of 10,000 yuan (US$1,388) was offered for each person on the list, one of whom was named as Ning Enwei (寧恩緯).
Photo courtesy of Xinhua news agency
Chinese authorities accused Taiwan of organizing, planning and premeditating attacks on key sectors such as military, aerospace, government departments, energy and transportation, maritime affairs, as well as science and technology research firms in China, including Hong Kong and Macau, Xinhua reported.
Xinhua, citing a cybersecurity report, said that the Taiwan "information, communication and digital army" has cooperated with US anti-Chinese forces to conduct public opinion and cognitive warfare against China, secretly instigate revolution and attempt to disrupt public order in China.
In New Taipei City, the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command said in a statement that it was not carrying out any "corporate cyberattacks," and that China's offers of a bounty highlighted "the rude and unreasonable attitude of the Chinese communists in intimidating and coercing Taiwanese."
"Recent statements by the European Union, the United States and the Czech Republic condemning the Chinese communists' hacking organizations for carrying out cyberattacks prove that the Chinese communists are not only a regional troublemaker, but a common threat to the global Internet," the agency said.
Claims by the public security bureau in Guangzhou that Chinese enterprises were facing cyberattacks were promoted by the Chinese state media last month, the agency said.
It is obviously a manipulation aimed to intimidate and coerce Taiwanese, it said.
The military is determined to safeguard Taiwan’s digital territory, including against cyberattacks, it said.
A senior Taiwanese security official told reporters the Chinese allegations were invented, adding that Beijing was trying to shift the focus from Czech and European scrutiny over alleged Chinese hacking activities there.
"They fabricated a false narrative to shift the focus. It's typical behavior of the Chinese Communist Party," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter. "No amount of storytelling can change the fact that Beijing is not only a regional troublemaker, but also a common international threat to the online world."
China also said that Taiwan had long-standing cooperation with the US National Security Agency, the CIA and other intelligence agencies for the US' "Asia-Pacific Strategy," calling it Taiwan's attempt to gain independence through relying on Washington.
"The US intelligence department has long provided personnel training and technical equipment support for Taiwan's 'information, communication and digital army,' and many police stations have sent 'hunting' teams to Taiwan, to launch cyberattacks on China," an account linked to Chinese state television wrote on social media.
Last week authorities in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, attributed a cyberattack on an unnamed technology company to Taiwan's government, saying that the Democratic Progressive Party supported the "overseas hacker organization" responsible.
The accusation prompted Taiwan to accuse China of peddling false information, saying it was China that was carrying out hacking against the nation.
Additional reporting by CNA and Fion Khan
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
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
RSS