PNN – The revelation of several files related to intelligence activities in Taiwan’s political and military institutions has sparked renewed debate about the island’s security vulnerabilities and the challenges facing Taipei.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, the increasing number of espionage cases in Taipei has presented Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) with a new challenge and revealed worrying vulnerabilities in Taipei’s anti-espionage systems.
The report claims that successive revelations of foreign influence, from close aides to senior government officials to active military personnel, have raised alarm bells about Beijing’s increasing efforts to undermine Taiwanese authorities from within and have cast doubt on public trust in the island’s leader, Lai Ching-te.
Read more:
Trump’s economic advisers are confused about the Treasury Secretary’s role in the tariff war
Taiwanese media reports indicate that at least five people with close ties to senior politicians in Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party have been questioned or detained on suspicion of leaking classified information to Chinese intelligence agencies. Among them are aides to the island’s president and Joseph Wu, secretary of Taiwan’s National Security Council.
Huang Hui-hua, president of the Taiwan think tank Global Talk, also emphasized that the increase in Chinese espionage cases in Taiwan shows that Beijing’s spy network here operates almost flawlessly. They have created a very effective system to attract some Taiwanese citizens.
He added: Even high-ranking officials are now under siege by espionage suspects, indicating that Taipei has become lax in its fight against intelligence infiltration.
China’s central government has refused to engage in dialogue or communication with Taipei since Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party came to power in 2016. Beijing, which considers Taiwan an inalienable part of its territory, has vowed to take the island back by force if necessary.