The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) infiltration efforts against Taiwan have intensified, with targets varying from the military to the general public, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in a news release yesterday.
The council cited judicial data and information from judge Hsu Kai-hsieh (許凱傑) of the Taipei District Court’s National Security Division.
The CPP uses six known methods to infiltrate Taiwan: intelligence leaks, organizational infiltration, social division, technology-related leaks, election interference and “gray zone” operations, the release said.
Photo: Screen grab from the MAC’s Facebook page
Some members of the military were coerced into handing over classified information after mistakenly signing a “surrender agreement,” the MAC said.
The main methods of organizational infiltration involve using hometown and alumni associations, and using borough leaders’ tour groups to penetrate local communities, the council said.
China has also sent spies to infiltrate political parties in Taiwan to divide Taiwanese society, it added.
The council said that the CCP aims to infiltrate Taiwan’s tech industry through China-funded enterprises or by sending spies to steal core technologies.
As for election interference methods, the council said they occur mostly during election periods, but are difficult to prove.
“Gray zone” operations such as the destruction of Taiwan’s undersea cables have been increasing, MAC said.
How the international community coordinates and divides responsibilities — including reporting and pursuing suspicious vessels — is crucial for safeguarding communication infrastructure, Hsu said in the release.
In 2022, 28 people in Taiwan were charged with activities connected to Chinese infiltration, while the number was 86 in 2023 and last year it nearly doubled to 168, the council said.
The figures showed the CCP’s infiltration of Taiwan has intensified, with targets including high-level officials, military commanders, as well as lower-ranking officers and servicemembers, the release said.
Last month, Hsu briefed the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) in the US about China’s legal warfare and its efforts to infiltrate Taiwan.
The CECC is an independent commission established in October 2000, responsible for monitoring China’s human rights conditions and the development of the rule of law. The commission is required to submit an annual report to the US president and US Congress.
In response to media queries at the time, Hsu said that the US Foreign Agents Registration Act is a good model for Taiwan, and that Taipei and Washington can also cooperate in counterintelligence training to eliminate espionage cases in Taiwan.
The concept of defensive democracy is very important, he said, adding that “too little regulation allows authoritarian infiltration, while too much turns into another form of dictatorship.”
Taiwan can provide case studies and work with other democratic countries to improve national security and the rule of law for democracies in the new era.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS