Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te has emphasized the need for stronger measures in response to increasing Chinese infiltration and espionage efforts, which are seen as tactics to weaken Taiwan’s defenses and advance Beijing’s aim to take control of the self-governing island.
Lai highlighted several incidents involving China that fall into the “gray area” of psychological warfare, which stops short of direct armed conflict.
He stated that Beijing’s actions to undermine Taiwan, obtain secrets, tempt military members, and sway public opinion to diminish confidence in national defense require stiffer legal safeguards to detect and prevent these activities.
Lai proposed measures including the re-institution of military trials for espionage and more stringent restrictions for residents from China, Hong Kong, and Macau wishing to gain Taiwanese identification. The intermarriage prevalence between Taiwanese and Chinese has complicated this task.
Taiwan also plans to reduce interactions with those affiliated with China’s United Front department, which uses cultural exchanges to promote unity under Beijing’s terms.
This follows an incident where a student from a pro-unification Taiwanese group’s sponsored delegation used derogatory language about Taiwan. The public outrage that ensued did not translate into legal consequences.
Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party supports Taiwan’s continued de facto independence from Beijing, which led to China halting nearly all official communications with the party following Tsai Ing-wen’s election eight years ago.
China frequently deploys ships and aircraft near the island to intimidate its 23 million citizens and exhaust its military resources and morale.
Recently, the Taiwanese government expelled a Chinese woman married to a Taiwanese citizen after she repeatedly posted online videos praising China’s leadership and claiming Taiwan could be conquered swiftly. Such actions are illegal under Taiwan’s laws on aiding the enemy. The woman, who had Chinese official consultancy titles, can reapply for residency in five years.
Some incidents have seen Taiwanese artists and influencers in China sharing Chinese media assertions of sovereignty over Taiwan. There have also been cases of retired Taiwanese military personnel passing sensitive information to Chinese agents and attempting to recruit current service members as spies.
The Defense Ministry recently verified a breach involving a retired air force major, who claimed affiliation with a U.S. think tank. This individual convinced an air intercept controller to provide classified files in exchange for money, which the major then delivered to Chinese handlers for approximately $45,000.
The classified information pertained to Taiwan’s air-launched Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missiles and its responses to Chinese air defense zone violations.
The division across the Taiwan Strait, a 180-kilometer (110-mile) expanse, occurred amid civil war in 1949, and China continues to assert Taiwan as its territory, which it reserves the right to reclaim by force if necessary.
Lai’s remarks coincided with the anniversary of China’s Anti-Succession Act passage, outlining conditions for invasion, such as formal independence declaration or indefinite unification refusal.
Taiwan, independently operating for all practical purposes as per the government and a vast majority of its populace, sees no necessity for a formal declaration of independence.
Meanwhile, the island strengthens its defenses by acquiring new missiles, U.S. tanks, aircraft, and self-manufactured submarines.
Additionally, Taiwan recently extended mandatory national military service for men from four months to one year.
