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.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
RSS