Taiwanese judge Hsu Kai-hsieh (許凱傑) yesterday briefed the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) on China’s six major methods of infiltrating Taiwan, calling for counterintelligence collaboration between Taiwan and the US.
It was the first time that Hsu, a Taipei District Court judge focusing on national security, was invited to brief the CECC.
The CECC was founded by the US Congress in October 2000 to monitor human rights and the development of rule of law in China. It is required to submit an annual report to the US president and Congress.
Photo: AFP
Hsu said in an interview with the Central News Agency that his closed-door briefing to an audience of about 20 congressional staff members and chiefs of staff focused on China’s use of legal warfare to legitimize aggressive actions against Taiwan and justify its “gray zone” tactics, as well as its six main infiltration methods.
China’s infiltration targets range from government officials and ordinary citizens to military generals and common soldiers, Hsu said, adding that its six major infiltration methods are espionage, infiltrating organizations, dividing society, technology leaks, interfering with elections and “gray zone” tactics.
China mostly infiltrates hometown and alumni associations and recruits borough chiefs to lead residents on tours to China, Hsu said.
It also sends spies to infiltrate Taiwan’s political parties, seeking to divide Taiwanese society, he said.
In terms of technology, China uses companies backed by Chinese capital to try to control Taiwan’s technology industry and sends spies to specific enterprises to steal their technology, Hsu said.
Regarding its “gray zone” tactics, cases of Taiwan’s subsea communication cables being tampered with would only become more frequent, Hsu said.
International coordination, including reporting and pursuing suspicious vessels, is crucial to maintaining communication infrastructure, he said.
In 2022, 28 people were prosecuted in Taiwan for Chinese infiltration activities, while 86 were prosecuted in 2023 and 168 last year, Hsu said.
His invitation to brief the CECC shows that the US is paying attention to this issue, Hsu said, adding that Taiwan and the US could cooperate on counterintelligence training to reduce cases of espionage in Taiwan.
Emphasizing the importance of defensive democracy, Hsu said insufficient regulation would result in infiltration by authoritarianism, while excessive regulation would result in a dictatorship.
During his five-day trip to Washington, Hsu on Wednesday also attended the annual symposium of the Global Taiwan Institute.
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