A growing number of espionage cases are rattling Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), piercing deep into the island’s political and military core and exposing worrying vulnerabilities in its counter-intelligence systems.
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The mounting revelations of infiltration – from top government officials’ close aides to active-duty military personnel – have sparked alarm over Beijing’s intensifying efforts to undermine Taiwan authorities from within, raising questions of public trust in the administration of William Lai Ching-te.
At least five people closely associated with senior DPP politicians are under investigation or have been detained for allegedly leaking classified information to mainland Chinese intelligence. Among them are aides to Taiwanese leader Lai and National Security Council secretary general Joseph Wu.
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Donald Trump declines to say if US would defend Taiwan against mainland China attack
Donald Trump declines to say if US would defend Taiwan against mainland China attack
The high-level breaches have fuelled fears that Beijing’s decades-long efforts to cultivate spy networks in Taiwan are reaching new levels.
“The frequent surfacing of Chinese spy cases in Taiwan suggests that China’s espionage network here is watertight – they have developed a highly effective system to lure certain Taiwanese people to do the job,” said Huang Huei-hua, director of the Taiwan Global Talk think tank.
“Even top officials are now surrounded by suspected spies. It’s a sign that the DPP government has loosened its counter-intelligence screws.”
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Beijing views Taiwan as part of China to be reunited, by force if necessary. Since Lai, of the DPP, took office as the island’s leader in May, tensions across the Taiwan Strait have worsened.