TAIPEI, Jan 13: According to Taiwan’s intelligence bureau, China’s primary espionage agency is collaborating with criminal organizations, shell companies, and other questionable partners to gather intelligence on Taiwan’s defense systems. This has resulted in a significant increase in arrests for alleged espionage activities on the island.
Current and former military personnel from Taiwan are particularly targeted, making up nearly half of the 64 alleged spies brought to trial last year. This figure has risen dramatically from 16 in 2021 and 10 in 2022.
These arrests align with China’s intensified campaign of military intimidation, economic pressure, and “gray area” strategies, which include the use of the internet to advocate for unification and offering all-expenses-paid trips to China for low-ranking government officials.
A report released over the weekend by Taiwan’s National Security Bureau indicates that Chinese operatives have turned to the Taiwanese underworld to funnel money to individuals with valuable information. These efforts involve gangs, some of which have roots dating back to before the 1949 divide between the two sides, as well as loan sharks, shell companies for money laundering, illegal religious sects, and non-profit organizations.
Payments are sometimes made using cryptocurrency; however, more traditional methods of seduction and coercion are also employed to extract secrets from targets. This was seen in the case of one-star general Lo Hsien-che, who fell victim to such a scheme while on assignment in Thailand, according to the bureau.
Among those arrested last year, 23 individuals were part of a collaborative spy network, with one receiving a 20-year prison sentence.
The State Security Ministry, China’s main intelligence agency, employs both conventional espionage tactics and cyberattacks, alongside military intelligence, while the Communist Party’s United Front division manages propaganda efforts.
Although the ruling Communist Party of China often avoids contact with Taiwan’s pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), it maintains regular communication with the principal opposition Nationalist Party.
While Chinese tactics may have influenced some local elections, the DPP remains firmly in power, and the overwhelming majority of Taiwanese continue to favor their de facto independence, with substantial support from the United States.
The recruitment of retired military personnel by China has been aided by the fact that many were born in mainland China and support unification with the mainland. In response, Taiwan’s government has imposed time restrictions on retired senior officers regarding visits to the mainland to curb potential recruitment efforts. (AP)
