Taipei, April 9 (NationPress) The Director-General of Taiwan's National Security Bureau (NSB), Tsai Ming-yen, has characterized China's efforts to infiltrate Taiwan as 'systematic, calculated, and targeted'. He noted a strategic transition from recruiting mid-level military officers to enlisting rank-and-file personnel, as reported by local media on Thursday.

During a recent session of the legislature's Foreign Affairs and National Defence Committee, Tsai indicated that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is utilizing national security measures, intelligence operations, and “united front” strategies to conduct espionage and intelligence collection activities within Taiwan. He has accused the CCP of employing specific networks to identify targets through exchange activities and recruiting local associates to form intelligence-gathering groups, according to Taiwan's prominent daily, the Taipei Times.

Tsai further elaborated that China is now redirecting its focus towards lower-ranking military personnel. He cited investigations into suspected espionage cases, revealing that the CCP's initial infiltration strategies primarily involved targeting mid-level military officers who had greater access to classified information. However, the current focus has shifted to noncommissioned officers and enlisted ranks.

Additionally, a recent report from the NSB indicated that China is poised to meddle in Taiwan's upcoming 'nine-in-one' local elections scheduled for November by launching cyberattacks on the Taiwanese Government Service Network (GSN).

This report was presented to the Legislative Yuan ahead of the bureau's anticipated briefing at the Foreign Affairs and National Defence Committee last week, as reported by the Taipei Times. The bureau highlighted China's cognitive warfare tactics against Taiwan, revealing that the national security team had identified approximately 13,000 suspicious online accounts and 860,000 contentious messages.

The report specified that these contentious messages revolve around critical foreign affairs, national defense, and economic topics, generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and disseminated through Chinese state media, internet trolls, dubious accounts, and content farms.

It was noted that the GSN experienced over 173.28 million attacks in the first quarter of 2026, which could suggest a larger scheme of Chinese interference in the 'nine-in-one' elections. The attacks appear to be aimed at intelligence gathering, surveillance, and data theft.

"For the upcoming elections at the end of this year, China is likely to intervene with a hybrid strategy that includes disseminating disputed content via AI-driven deep-fake technology, publishing fraudulent public opinion polls, and establishing illegal betting operations," the bureau stated.

Furthermore, it was mentioned that Beijing may attempt to influence election outcomes by inviting tourist groups to China, covering their travel expenses, and purchasing agricultural products from pro-China regions.

The report also disclosed that Chinese military aircraft intruded into Taiwan's airspace over 420 times during the first quarter of 2026. The NSB noted that these maneuvers were coordinated with Chinese naval forces to conduct 10 "joint combat readiness patrols," aimed at assessing operational readiness against Taiwan through regular drills.