TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Allegations of a campaign to influence Taiwan’s 2024 elections through Chinese visitors have surfaced, coinciding with the Taiwanese government’s disclosure of common infiltration activities by Beijing.
Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲), a legislator from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), raised concerns on Friday (Oct. 27) about approximately 29,000 Chinese visitors who arrived in Taiwan between January and March. These visitors had reportedly obtained over 1 million Taiwanese cellphone numbers, which Lin suspected might be utilized to interfere with the upcoming presidential and legislative elections in January, per CNA.
According to Lin, these phone numbers could be exploited to financially support specific online influencers who push pro-China narratives. He suggested that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) may attempt to influence public opinion against the DPP by making substantial donations to online celebrities critical of the ruling party.
The National Communications Commission (NCC) has rebutted Lin’s claim, saying the more than 1 million figure was not the number of acquired cellphone numbers. It is the number of times connected to the internet when roaming, it said.
Still, Lin’s accusations reflect tactics that align with the election-meddling methods cautioned against by the Ministry of Justice, which include increasing traffic for channels associated with particular politicians, enlisting celebrities for promotional campaigns, and resorting to cryptocurrencies or illegal remittances to support political candidates.
On Monday (Oct. 30), Taiwan’s defense ministry released a report revealing that the CCP has sought to infiltrate Taiwan through four distinct avenues: camaraderie, family connections, criminal networks, and online interactions.
The report indicated that Beijing has intensified recruitment efforts aimed at Taiwan’s current and former security and military personnel. Notably, 86.8% of espionage cases prosecuted were exposed through internal reporting within the military community.
In a recent case, a retired Air Force colonel was sentenced to 20 years in prison for operating a spy ring on behalf of China over the past eight years.
