The Taipei Times reported on Oct. 28 that Taiwan's authorities are strengthening measures against Chinese interference ahead of the Nov. 28 local elections. Taiwan's National Security Bureau says the interference increasingly targets specific groups; Beijing has not made a separate statement on that point.
The Taipei Times reported on Oct. 28 that Taiwan is stepping up efforts to stop Chinese election meddling. We could not retrieve the full text of that article, so the details below draw on recent reporting by Focus Taiwan, the English service of the Central News Agency. Taiwan's local elections are on Nov. 28.
광고 문의 · 300×250According to Focus Taiwan, National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen told reporters on Oct. 22, before a legislative committee hearing, that the interference increasingly targets particular groups and audiences. He listed discounted flights to bring Taiwanese in China home to vote, illicit funds for candidates and political groups, cheap tours to China to sway voters, disinformation, illegal betting pools, and hacking to steal election intelligence. These are the Taiwanese government's claims and have not been independently verified.
Taiwan's response
Tsai said the bureau and other agencies are investigating suspected cases, using AI tools to trace disinformation, and collecting evidence for prosecutors to review before the Nov. 28 vote. The government service network faced roughly 2.58 million intrusion attempts a day on average as of September, well above June, and the bureau does not rule out a link to election preparations.
Earlier, on Oct. 14, the Mainland Affairs Council said Beijing was using targeted media narratives and economic pressure to label political camps and candidates and to interfere in the election. That was a reaction to sanctions on a company tied to the father of DPP Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Po-yang. The council called it a malicious attempt to coerce Taiwanese society and interfere in democratic elections.
Beijing's position
On the same day, Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Chen Binhua said the company tied to Shen's father was barred from business and cooperation with organizations, firms and individuals in China, and that Beijing would never allow firms linked to diehard Taiwan independence separatists to profit from the mainland. In effect, the mainland frames the step as a sanction on independence forces rather than election interference.
The Oct. 22 report carried no Chinese response to the bureau's allegations, so Beijing's overall official position on the interference claims has not been confirmed. As the two sides' accounts differ, we will follow up when concrete evidence is made public.
