The People’s Republic of China (PRC) issued two reward notices earlier this month for 21 Taiwanese military and military intelligence officers accused of “secessionist” activity, a “China-Taiwan Weekly Update” report published yesterday by US think tank American Enterprise Institute (AEI) said.
The move “likely marks a new PRC cognitive warfare effort to spread concern within the Taiwanese military, government and populace over the levels of PRC infiltration within the Taiwanese military,” the AEI said.
The PRC’s Ministry of State Security first issued reward notices on Oct. 10 for three lieutenant colonels in the Military Intelligence Bureau (MIB) for “conducting propaganda and sabotage efforts, spreading pro-independent messages and inciting cross-strait tensions online in violation of the PRC’s Anti-Secession Law,” it added.
Photo: CNA
The Chinese authorities released the three individuals’ photos, full names and identification numbers, reportedly provided by “concerned Taiwanese citizens,” the think tank said, which “suggests high levels of infiltration within the Taiwanese military and military intelligence apparatuses.”
The next day, the Xiamen Public Security Bureau issued a further reward notice offering 10,000 yuan (NT$43,033) for information leading to the capture of 18 military officers alleged to be members of a “‘psychological warfare’ unit conducting ‘secessionist’ activities online,” the report said.
The Ministry of National Defense said Beijing’s move is an “act of cognitive warfare,” “intended to divide public opinion and undermine the Taiwanese government,” the report said.
However, the notices are “unlikely to lead to arrests” as Taiwanese military officers rarely travel to China, the AEI said, though it could lead to “diminished public trust” in the Taiwanese military and reduced trust and security within the military.
The AEI noted a number of recent incidents, including the indictment on Oct. 12 of two military personnel on PRC espionage, after selling sensitive information to the PRC including the manual to the Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missile for US$1,200, and an EVA Air manager who on Oct. 14 confessed to acting as a PRC agent for 11 years.
The National Security Bureau (NSB) outlined four primary methods that the PRC uses to build espionage networks in Taiwan: using retired military personnel to recruit active-duty personnel, contacting targets online, using financial rewards and “exploiting targets’ indebtedness to coerce them,” which lines up with these latest incidents, the report said.
On Monday last week, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said that the military is set to strengthen personnel screening to prevent further PRC infiltration.
China is engaging in cognitive and psychological warfare intended to intimidate and divide, taking advantage of Taiwan’s transparent, democratic society to gather data, he said today.
The military would now require retired and active-duty personnel to limit social media activity and is considering the use of aliases to prevent further data leaks, he said.
Additional reporting by CNA and Hsieh Chun-lin
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