Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers Puma Shen (沈伯洋) and Fan Yun (范雲) over the weekend in The Hague raised international awareness about the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) cognitive warfare by highlighting the threats and challenges Taiwan faces from China’s influence operations and “gray zone” tactics.
They represented the DPP at Liberal International’s Executive Committee Meeting, which ran from Friday to yesterday.
Shen during a panel discussion on Saturday provided an analysis on cyberwarfare, citing his own experiences in fighting against China’s increasingly sophisticated use of propaganda and “cognitive warfare” targeting Taiwanese.
Photo: CNA
Democratic countries cannot just stay on the defensive or merely respond to fake news and slander, Shen said.
China is using online and offline means, as well as other tactics, to collect the digital footprints of Taiwanese people and organizations, and integrate those into its cyber-physical system, he said.
The CCP has been infiltrating local communities, buying influence to set up contacts and proxies at the grassroots level, and has reached key figures in local temples, where they tap into social networks to collect information, Shen said.
They also compare that with online information, allowing them to make a fairly precise attack on a chosen target, he added.
These are all part of China’s “united front” campaign, which involves planting and using proxies in Taiwan, and using technology to aid its cyberwarfare, Shen said.
Taiwan must swiftly establish a comprehensive legal framework and mechanism for data governance, and enhance digital security measures to protect the nation from enemy intrusion, he said.
“Only when we have a legal framework that ensures ‘digital sovereignty’ could we have an effective defense against authoritarian regimes, which are using artificial intelligence to surveil their own citizens, and manipulate public opinion at home and against foreign countries,” Shen said.
Fan during her panel discussion talked about lessons Taiwan has learned, and its successes in fighting against the expansion of China’s manipulation and influence in the Asia-Pacific region.
Taiwan’s civil society and activist organizations work to combat the dissemination of fake news and falsified information, Fan said, adding that legislators have also pushed for an increase in the national defense budget, while the president has launched the Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee.
Fan urged the international community to clearly and loudly support peace in the Taiwan Strait to form an effective deterrence, continuously back Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations and deepen international cooperation to counter transnational repression.
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