Tuesday | January 14, 2025
Taiwan has seen a “significant rise” in the number of individuals charged with spying for China in recent years, according to new data released by the island’s security bureau, amid escalating intimidation by Beijing.
Taiwan’s National Security Bureau (NSB) claimed in a report issued Sunday that the number of people punished for Chinese espionage has tripled in recent years, from 16 in 2021 to 64 in 2024.
The study stated that objectives of Chinese infiltration included military units, government agencies, and local associations, with 15 of the 64 charged being veterans of the armed forces and 28 being active duty members.
A senior security official told CNN that last year’s convictions were the most in ten years and that Beijing’s intimidation of Taiwan has been growing.
Although Beijing has never held control of the self-governing democracy, it asserts that it is its own territory and has promised to do so, even if it means using force.
China’s claims to sovereignty have been consistently denied by the Taiwanese government, which has made it clear that the country’s 23.5 million citizens alone have the power to determine its future.
According to the research, the Chinese Communist Party is still using a variety of methods and channels to infiltrate people from all areas of life in order to assist them build networks or obtain classified government information.
Beijing has increased its pressure on the island in recent years, conducting increasingly frequent large-scale military exercises and expressing concern about the potential use of “gray zone” tactics, or actions that fall short of war.
Concerns on the island regarding weaknesses that Beijing can exploit in so-called “gray zone operations” were highlighted by Taiwan officials’ fears earlier this month that a Chinese vessel might have caused damage to an underwater internet connection.
According to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, China also deployed its largest regional maritime force in decades in December, deploying various formations of Chinese coast guard and naval vessels in regional waterways and surrounding the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan’s security agencies have been warning for years about Beijing’s increasing espionage efforts and attempts to infiltrate its armed forces, especially bribing military officers in exchange for national secrets.
According to the most recent report, Taiwanese authorities have been able to identify more suspected Chinese espionage cases as a result of enhanced counterintelligence skills.
It claimed that Chinese agents established up underground banks to recruit military personnel and China-friendly organizations in Taiwan, as well as allegedly tried to connect with local temples and criminal gangs.
Without going into specifics about the instances, the article also stated that some of the accused spies were assigned to act as “sabotage” agents and fly the Chinese flag in the event of a Chinese invasion. In an effort to assemble a “sniper team” for a “assassination assignment,” some were also asked to collect intelligence.
Taiwan has also been accused of spying by China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), which is in charge of intelligence and counterintelligence operations both domestically and abroad.
The ministry claimed in August of last year that it had disrupted many espionage networks and discovered more than a thousand Taiwanese espionage instances in recent years.
At a time when ties with western powers, particularly the United States, have deteriorated, China’s MSS has also started a high-profile campaign against what it claims is an increase in international espionage activities.
Taiwan’s Institute of National Defense and Security Research (INDSR) resident search officer Chao Yu-hsiang expressed his expectation that the recent increase in Taiwanese prosecutions will lead the Taiwanese military to strengthen security.
In a column published by INDSR on Monday, he stated that “both our military and civilians should maintain a high level of vigilance in our words and deeds, develop good confidentiality habits, and use social media with caution to prevent those with ulterior motives from infiltrating, absorbing, and exploiting us.”