China's hackers and celebrities amplify pressure on Taiwan in coordinated campaign: Report
- In Reports
- 05:06 PM, Oct 17, 2024
- Myind Staff
A few days ago, Taiwan reported seeing a record number of 153 Chinese military planes flying over the island. This happened after a day of large-scale military drills. The aircraft were spotted on Tuesday (which was late Monday, around 10 PM GMT), according to a statement from Taiwan's defence ministry. This is the highest number of planes seen in a single day.
Taiwan responded by sending "appropriate forces" and putting its outlying islands on high alert after Beijing surrounded the island nation on Monday with fighter jets, drones, warships, and coast guard boats. As "irrational and provocative," Taiwan denounced China's actions, while the United States referred to them as "unwarranted." According to the Wall Street Journal report, China has now used celebrities and hackers in addition to military pressure to sway public opinion in Taiwan and weaken its commitment to self-rule.
According to the WSJ report, Taiwan saw over 90,000 cyberattack attempts in August, with government infrastructure among the targets. It was the most since a spike two years prior during then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's contentious trip to the island. Taiwanese officials claim that China has even recruited Taiwanese celebrities to support its cause.
"One of the ways they do this is by inviting well-known Taiwanese figures-whether they're from the arts, entertainment, or politics-to share pro-unification views," Taiwan's National Security Bureau head Tsai Ming-yen said after some celebrities shared maps of Monday's drills and said they supported Beijing's "One China" policy.
China's propaganda effort, according to a WSJ investigation, involves disseminating misinformation aimed at undermining American trust in Taiwan's self-defence capabilities. A post that went viral on the internet during Monday's exercises claimed that a Taiwanese naval captain had spent the whole Sunday night drinking. According to Taiwan's Justice Ministry's investigating agency, the allegation was untrue.
Comments