Chinese police have offered rewards for information about 18 people that Beijing accuses of being Taiwanese military psychological operations officers spreading “separatist” messages, a day after Taiwan pledged to strengthen its defences.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, over the strong objections of the government in Taipei, and has increased its military and political pressure on the island.
The public security bureau in the Chinese city of Xiamen, which sits opposite Taiwan on the other side of the Taiwan Strait, said the 18 were core members of the Taiwan military’s “psychological warfare unit” and published their pictures, names and Taiwan identity card numbers.
The unit handled tasks such as disinformation, intelligence gathering, psychological warfare and the broadcast of propaganda, the Xiamen security bureau claimed.
“For a long time they plotted to incite separatist activities,” the bureau said, adding there would be rewards of up to 10,000 yuan (US$1,402) for tips leading to their arrest. In a separate report, the state-controlled Chinese news agency Xinhua said they launched websites for smear campaigns, created seditious games to incite secession, produced fake video content to mislead people, operated illegal radios for “infiltration”, and manipulated public opinion with resources from “external forces”.
Taiwan’s defence ministry said the accusations reflected the “despotic and pig-headed thinking of an authoritarian regime … trying to divide our people, belittle our government, and conduct cognitive warfare.”
China had repeatedly issued such reports that “exploit the free flow of information in our democratic society to piece together and fabricate personal data”, the Taiwanese ministry said.
“Defending national security and protecting the safety and wellbeing of the people is the unshirkable duty of every military officer and soldier,” it said.
The wanted notice is largely symbolic given that Taiwanese intelligence officers do not openly visit China, which also has no legal jurisdiction on the island.
On Friday, the Taiwanese president, Lai Ching-te, pledged greater efforts to boost Taiwan’s defences, calling on China to renounce the use of force to seize the island. China reacted with anger, calling Lai a troublemaker and a “war-maker”.
In June, China issued a similar bounty for the arrest of 20 people Beijing said were Taiwanese military hackers. Taiwan dismissed that threat, saying it would not be intimidated.
