Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China has cranked up cyberattacks and the distribution of misleading information against the island democracy ahead of local elections next month.
Taipei, Taiwan, on January 12, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has long threatened to use force to bring it under its control.
Taipei, which rejects that claim, accuses China of using cyberattacks, disinformation and espionage to erode people’s confidence in the Taiwanese government.
Taiwan was hit with an average of 2.6 million cyberattacks a day in the first nine months of 2026, and that has intensified since June, the National Security Bureau said in a report submitted to parliament on Tuesday.
China’s “cyber army” hit Taiwan’s academic and research sectors, telecommunications, and defence supply chains to interfere “with the Taiwanese government’s defence operations, undermine international cooperation, and steal sensitive technologies”, the report said.
Chinese cyberattackers are making use of artificial intelligence, including “AI agents to scan for vulnerabilities on our government websites”, it said.
The Taiwan flag. File Photo: Walid Berrazeg/HKFP.Intelligence officials collected more than 2.5 million pieces of disinformation disseminated by China’s ruling Communist Party over the nine months, compared with around 1.7 million in the same period last year, mainly on Facebook and Threads.
Analysis indicates that the party has “utilised diverse channels”, including technological and human, “to influence the support preferences of our voters and the election results”, the report said.
Taiwanese voters go to the polls on November 28 to elect city and county government officials.